Makarovs Marvellous Flying Fairy Tail Circus
by xXHellfireRavenXx
Summary: Aspiring dancer Lucy Heartfilia has always been fascinated by the stars, but after years having to play the prim and proper ballerina to please her father; she longs to venture out into the world and make her own mark. In Magnolia, she meets a myriad of colourful characters, all performers in the greatest show in Earthland. One young man catches her eye more the others however...
1. Chapter 1

I'm not entirely sure what my brain was thinking when I got the idea for this story, I wanted to do something different from my other two stories for this fandom. I don't write AU's often as I can't quite seem to get my head into a different world other than the fandom I am writing about. This is another case of the story idea woke me up in the middle of the night and I had to get the plot written out before it was forgotten. So please enjoy this product of my whimsical mind!

* * *

Chapter one – Star Flower and the River of Stars

Magnolia.

Three days by rickety cart ride, due east of the grand capital city of Crocus, through the mountain of central Fiore; and the charming merchant town of just seventy-thousand people was slowly coming into view. Stood quaintly on the shores of the vast and crystal clear waters of the stunning Lake Scilliora, the town looked unassuming in it's size comparison to the great capital.

Three long days of being cooped up in a stuffy and overly fancy box on wheels with the man whom Lucy Heartfilia privately noted had all the personality of a damp sock.

Seventy two hours of listening to her father droning on about his company's plans to extend the rail network from the capital city, through the mountains to join western Fiore to the east of the continent. Plans which would greatly increase tourism and commerce and bring about a drastic reduction in the journey to just six hours. It would also give the company a nice boost in profits.

Lucy however spent much of the time wondering if pushing her father from the carriage would bring about a drastic increase in her sanity.

Jude Heartfilia was a stern faced man with silver hair, wrinkled eyes behind wire rimmed spectacles wearing a silk suit that Lucy believed was the height of fashion somewhere around the time of the birth of civilisation. With the view that his money made him better than everyone else and travelling by horse and carriage was beneath him, his daughter often found his archaic views clashed with her own.

"Sit down and stop gawking out of the window."

Nearing the entrance of town, a pair of wondrous big brown eyes took in the vibrancy of the multi-coloured stone buildings, quaint cafes, shops and homes perched in the shadow of the magnificent Kardia Cathedral in the center of the long stone causeway that split the town right down the middle.

Blond hair the shade of gold spun thread whipped around her face as nineteen year old Lucy Heartfilia ignored her fathers' orders to stay seated and poked her head out of the window for another look at the town that the young woman would be calling her home for the foreseeable future.

She had been raised her whole life in a grand and opulently furnished five story townhouse in one of the most sought after postal addresses in the capital city. Her days consisted of rules and regulations, being constantly told how to dress, how to act and what was expected of her. Her father worked away most of the week at Heartfilia and Everlue Railways while his only daughter was catered for and followed by several maids, nannies and bodyguards.

And Lucy had hated every second of it.

She made it a daily habit to see how often she could run from the hired help, and escape somewhere for a rare few moments alone.

So when the teenager had turned eighteen, finishing with straight A's from one of Crocus's most prestigious Academic institutions; she suddenly had a new found freedom to do whatever she wanted with her life.

Several things over the years had led her up to this point, sitting here in a stuffy carriage, rolling her eyes as she switched between watching her father thumbing through paperwork and taking in all Magnolia had to offer.

Her brown eyes caught the sight of flags of various patterns and colours that were almost gaudy in appearance were being strung up between the long line of lampposts lining the main road, it seemed this little town was preparing for a big celebration, or a festival of sorts.

"This place is awesome!"

"What a dilapidated old dump...are you really insistent on turning down a four year training program at Crocus Academy of the Arts –" Lucy's strict and very opinionated father looked up at his daughter through thin spectacles to glare disapprovingly at her 'unladylike' outburst.

The proud and successful businessman looked sorely out of place with his pressed grey suit of the finest silk and black leather loafers so shiny Lucy could see her face in them. The two sat on opposite sides of a sturdy but basic carriage that the railway entrepreneur had forked out a handsome sum to ferry his daughter, himself and all of her belongings to her new home on the other side of the country and then take him back to Crocus (after once again giving her his disapproval on her life choices, Lucy scoffed internally).

Lucy rolled her eyes out of view of his gaze and opened her mouth to interrupt him, as she had done many times before when he had tried to force his opinions on her over the years, much to his exasperation.

"Yeah Dad...you never did tell me how I was accepted to join the place that at first told me I was_ 'Too fat to be a true ballerina of the standard befitting the prestigious Royal Ballet of Crocus and would be needed to loose ten pounds before I was even considered'_..." Lucy raised a sceptical eyebrow at her father.

"I did nothing but offer gentle...persuasion...to get them to change their minds." Jude offered simply, thumbing nonchalantly through his morning paper that one of the carriage footman had bought off a local street vendor; unbeknownst to his daughter that her father had actually paid the snotty academy _not_ to accept her.

Lucy had actually been offered a place based on her talent alone, but that was a story for another time.

'_Heaven forbid my old man has to touch a 'lowly commoners' hand'_ Lucy had thought disdainfully as she watched her father hand a single gold coin to the footman to pass to the vendor, who looked as though his dreams had come true when told to keep the change earlier that same morning.

Jude Heartfilia had once been a warmer and more loving father to his only daughter, but since her beloved mother had passed away when Lucy was just seven from a long suffering illness; his vibrant blond hair had turned white, wrinkles had marked his overworked face and he became a strict and calculating father with a barbed tongue who expected Lucy to be a prim and proper young lady of the highest standard.

Lucy had shared many things in common with her beautiful mother, Layla. Her looks, kind spirit, a love of adventure, the stars, reading and among Lucy's personal favourite – dancing.

Oh how she wished she could have seen her mother dance.

Layla Heartfilia had once been a famous and celebrated ballerina with her whole career ahead of her when she met and fell in love with a young and ambitious insurance broker from Clover Town at twenty years old. Jude and Layla married a few years later, moved to Crocus to pursue both of their careers, when the surprising and wonderful gift of a daughter put a spanner in Layla's dream of becoming a dance teacher, just a year later. Jude had tried to convince his beloved wife to keep dancing, but when he saw how well she took to motherhood, how happy she was; he accepted her decision to give up on her dreams and instead take on a new dream of raising their bundle of joy.

Lucy grew into a kind, happy and confident young girl who shared her mothers' interest in Astrology, reading and dancing. But their little happy family sadly wasn't meant to be, when at the age of twenty eight; Layla Heartfilia collapsed in the middle of watching their daughters' summer dance recital.

After a whirlwind few hours of her being rushed to hospital, a five year old Lucy sitting for hours (still in her pink tutu and brand new pink ballet shoes) in a hospital waiting room with tears streaming down her little face; the young girl was guided into a hug by her solemn father who told his daughter than mommy was not well and would no longer be able to watch her dance.

Lucy's dancing slowly wilted away and she lost her love of dancing altogether when her mother eventually lost her battle with her long illness, a few short years later.

Jude, blinded by his grief, slowly drifted away from his young daughter. The days, months and eventually years passed of father and daughter barely speaking to one another. Jude threw himself into his career, working long hours and leaving Lucy under the care and guidance of hired help and nannies.

Lucy would bury herself into her books, stargazing and learning about how and why the world worked; until one day, at age twelve, Lucy, while reading her mothers favourite book, happened upon a envelope folded carefully in the back of the book. The looping of familiar handwriting had caused the young girl Lucy to gasp, a glittering gold key that fell out of the letter and on to her lap caused her to tilt her head in confusion as she turned her attention towards the letter.

It was from her mother.

'_My little star flower, if you're reading this then I'm afraid it has come my time to join the night sky and watch over my little ballerina as she grows up and becomes the young woman I always hoped she would become. Your father and I knew the moment we gazed into those big brown eyes, tuft of golden hair and button nose that it was no longer our dreams we had to pursue; but yours. You were born always looking up, finding out the next new adventure. My dearest Lucy if I can offer you just one piece of advice, it would be to listen to what your heart tells you. Please try not to be too hard on your father, Jude is a strict man, but he loved me unconditionally, as he does with you. I asked him if he could only do one thing, it would be to let you follow what your heart tells you to do. That is your inner star that will guide your way in all the wonders your life is destined to become. This golden key I have left you was passed down from my mother to me, it opens that box in the attic you once found while exploring and you so eagerly asked me about. Do you remember, that I simply smiled and told you my little star you would know when you were ready to know?_

_Well you are now ready, but never forget that I am always with you, and I love you very much my little star flower.'_

Lucy shook her head from her memories and smiled to herself, a silent tear trailing down her cheek as her hand felt for the golden key that she had wore on a golden chain around her neck for the last seven years.

That day had been a turning point in the young girls life. Upon reading the letter, she had grabbed the key, which was a beautiful ornately carved gilded metal, the symbols of the zodiac set into the handle with what looked like gold enamel.

Running to the attic, ignoring the tears streaming down her face, Lucy had spent twenty minutes searching high and low for a long red box with the same symbols set into the lid with gold as her key. Finding it eventually in a secluded corner, under a stack of newspapers she was sure were older than her father, Lucy took a deep breath, wiped away the film of dust that had settled on top and shakily inserted the key into the small lock in the front of the box; the metal rattling against each other in protest of her nervous quivering.

Taking a deep breath to steel her resolve, the blond wiped away her tears and determinedly turned the key; allowing the box to swing open.

Lucy felt her eyes widening at what, to her, looked like an elaborate but beautifully woven whip. With hesitant hands, she picked it from the red velvet inlaid box, feeling the comforting weight of the handle; she got to her feet, letting the long strands of intricately woven gold and blue silk fall to the ground.

She had seen whips in the past, but this one looked more like the ribbons that Lucy had once used to dance with for a Maypole celebration festival in Crocus. The strands had to be at least ten meters long. There were twelve of them, six of blue, six of gold, each with a small gold coin of metal set into the end with an elaborate knot. Holding some strands in her hand to examine a few, saw several zodiac symbols etched into them.

Aquarius, Taurus and Cancer.

Lucy smiled to herself and took the handle, feeling the inexplicable urge to twirl over and over in a tight circle, the silk ribbons flowing with her in perfect unison, the coins clinking together into a light carefree melody.

"Lucy? Where are you and what are you doing?" came the stern voice of her nanny Aquarius.

With a gasp, she quickly folded together the strands of the whip and placed them quietly back into the box, seeing another note in her mothers familiar handwriting. Grabbing it and locking the box before her grumpy nanny could find her in the attic, Lucy closed the door quietly behind her and rushed back to the library on the third floor. Smoothing down her petticoat over her fancy summer dress, Lucy tucked her mothers golden key into the pocket of her skirt, left the book on her stomach and pretended to be asleep in her favourite armchair by the fire. Seconds later, the library door sharply opened and Lucy pretended to be startled awake to the stern scowl of the blue haired woman barking at her to stop snoring like a congested boar and to wash before coming down for dinner.

Her father was home.

Lucy waited until the scary woman had left the room before bringing the note out from her pocket. Unfolding it eagerly, her curious brown eyes took in the words her mother had written for her.

'_Lucy, my gift to you is this Zodiac whip. It is called 'Fleuve d'etoiles' which means 'River of Stars '. My mother passed the legend down to me that it was once used long ago by a beautiful maiden to summon the spirits of the zodiac in an elaborate dance. The coins created the melody as she danced and in turn, summoned the spirits. The legend says one day that fair maiden will return to dance for the spirits again. I was hoping to learn to dance for the spirits, but my mother told me when you were born that it was not my destiny but that of yours. So I put the letter and key where you might find it, ready for the day your grand adventure could begin. Keep dancing my little Lucy!'_

Lucy had folded the letter into her pocket, wiped the fresh tears from her eyes and gone down to dinner. Not one word was spoken to her father about what she had found that day, but strangely, he had asked how her day had been.

Something he had not done for months.

So she told him she had decided perhaps it was time to start her old ballet lessons once again.

And her father had simply smiled at her, before he picked up his knife and fork and started eating.

Lucy spent the next five years devoting her time between school, dance and pouring over every single book in their vast library, trying to find some clue of how exactly to use the 'Fleuve d'etoiles'; but once or twice a month she would sneak out of her bed at night and once again take the whip from that red box and twirl with it. Letting the tinkle of a broken melody play softly, before returning it to its hiding place and going back to her bed without a sound.

The young dancer was unaware of the teary eyes of her stoic father sometimes watching her through the crack of the attic door, smiling at his little daughter twirling happily with gold and blue ribbons fluttering round her, the soft melody of the coins lulling him to sleep twice a month as he returned to his lonely bed. He missed his beloved Layla greatly, but watching Lucy twirling continuously, as her mother used to do with her family heirloom in the middle of the night brought happiness to his broken heart.

Maybe one day Lucy would be ready for the final gift that Layla had entrusted him to give their daughter when she was ready, before his wife had passed away in his arms.

Jude Heartfilia had insisted on accompanying his daughter to the next stage of her life to do two things. Wish her well of course (in his own way), and secretly place a worn out old book in her large trunk of tomes as instructed by his Layla all those years ago.

With a mental chuckle and a wry smile, he silently watched his enamoured daughter taking in the sights of her new home. It had been tough watching her grow without a mother figure, but he flatly refused to ever remarry.

Fatherhood hadn't gone quite as he expected, as he silently guided the young woman as best he could from the shadows. Instead of a prim and proper young lady, his only daughter had turned into an outgoing and strong willed young woman with a smart mouth and a consistent need to rebel against what he asked of her.

"Sounds more like you tried to use your chequebook to get me a place at that dance school..." Lucy sassed quietly. "That stuck up old bat can kiss my 'fat ass' –"

"What was that?" Jude turned the heat of his cold brown eyes on his daughter.

"Oh I was just pointing out how _awful_ it is how cheerful and vibrant this 'dilapidated old dump' is...just dreadful!" Lucy put on her best snooty voice and draped her arm against her forehead dramatically.

A vein bulged in Jude's forehead but rather than answer his disobedient daughter, he turned the next page of his newspaper, crossed his pressed trouser legs and raised the paper to hide his face.

He missed the raspberry Lucy sent his way as he silently chuckled at his charming daughter behind his paper.

Some things never changed.

* * *

"See, with a bit of work this place will be great!" Lucy spoke cheerfully.

Maybe the one bedroom apartment on Strawberry Street could use a little...okay allot of cleaning but it was her own space. Something she had craved for months.

The footmen had swiftly carried Lucy's chosen belongings in from the carriage without fuss (Jude paid them handsomely of course) while Lucy and her father had toured the three roomed apartment. Lucy loved the light streaming in as it bounced from the canal running along the front of her building, there was minimal furniture, a basic kitchen and a small closet; but Lucy had squeaked in excitement when she saw the large rustic claw foot bathtub in the bathroom.

She couldn't wait to while away hours in that tub with nothing but bubbles and a good book for company.

"You'll be mugged within a week." Her father drew a single finger across some dust on the windowsill and shuddered in disgust. "At least let me have Aquarius –"

"NO!" Lucy pleaded. "That woman terrifies me..."

"You're sure?"

"Yes...I can take care of myself." Lucy grumbled. "I'll be fine Dad, I plan on spending the weekend settling in...then I'm planning on visiting the local arts center to enrol in any dance classes that take my fancy and after that I need to go out and find a job-"

"Here." Jude spoke simply, handing an envelope to his confused daughter.

Lucy looked down into the envelope and her eyes widened, gasping in shock at the bills inside. There had to be hundreds of thousands of jewel, all in thousand jewel notes.

"W-What's all this?" Lucy stammered, looking up at her silent father in shock.

Jude regarded her for a moment before taking a deep breath, knowing she would refute him as soon as he explained.

"That, would be every single thousand jewel notes of the ten thousand jewel you have refused to take as a monthly allowance since the day you were ten years old. The ones you have been secretly slipping back into my wallet the day after it was handed to you." Jude smiled warmly down at his daughter. "Since you decided you didn't want my money I decided to keep it in one place and put it towards something useful."

Lucy felt tears spring to her eyes and she shook her head vehemently as she quickly did the maths in her head (it was over a million jewel).

"Do not argue with me on this, Lucy." Jude commanded firmly. "You will accept this without question, do I make myself clear?"

"B-"

"You have never asked me for anything extravagant or beyond my means for nineteen years, you have never expected to be spoiled or pampered like most of the well off families I know. So you will take this and put it to use to give yourself a comfortable and secure start to your new life in Magnolia." Jude spoke calmly and without pause.

Lucy let out a shaky breath and nodded, throwing her arms around her father in gratitude.

"Thank you." Lucy kissed her father on the cheek and wiped a single tear from her cheeks, giggling slightly as she looked up at him.

"Careful there Pops, if I didn't know any better I'd say my stick in the mud, grumpy old man is secretly a big ole softy."

Jude raised a silver eyebrow at his daughter before folding his arms.

"Tell anyone that and I will personally send Aquarius to live with you." He jested. "I have a reputation to uphold."

Lucy suddenly paled and nodded profusely.

"My lips are sealed...that woman is my worst nightmare!" She shuddered involuntarily.

"Never met a woman more terrifying." Jude turned white and Lucy giggled. "By the way, you're mother instructed me before she passed to slip you a little something into your Book trunk when the time came for you to fly the nest, as it were; something called 'Star Flower'."

Lucy felt her stomach drop out from under her and her eyes widened.

"W-What?"

"I remember the day my dear Layla showed me 'Fleuve d'etoiles' and told me the legend her mother previous told her. I loved to watch her dance, and seeing you twirling and smiling in that attic when you thought no one was watching brings a joy to my heart I never thought I could feel again."

And so, with a nod, a brief pat on the shoulder and well wishes given to his shell-shocked daughter, Jude Heartfilia strode out of the little apartment and out of his daughters life until the next time they met.

* * *

After a week of unpacking, sorting through her belongings and eradicating ten foot dust bunnies from every hidden nook and cranny of her new apartment, Lucy could finally relax and sit at her new kitchen table with the first ever meal she had fully prepared, cooked and served herself.

It was quite something to wake up exactly when she wanted, do absolutely nothing for the first time in her life and go anywhere she wanted to go.

Magnolia was a wonderful town full of life, people going about their day with a smile on their face, stopping to talk to others in the street. Having several neighbours stopping her to welcome her to the town or to simply say hello had been something to get used to. Lucy had even enjoyed helping the little old lady who lived in the floor below her to carry out her garbage one morning after seeing her struggling.

One week had soon turned into two, Lucy having spent the next week reading through the book her father had given her.

'Star Flower' was a book unlike any book that Lucy had ever read before. Instead of words and paragraphs forming a story, each page was a series diagrams of intricate foot and arm movements much like she would learn the routine of a ballet dance. Separately the pictures were confusing, but once they began to piece together, a complicated tapestry of a dance began to weave itself together in her mind.

But there was one small problem, Lucy didn't have the room to try the dance with her mothers whip in her small apartment. So she had set out into the town to explore and try and gather information about a studio or perhaps a community hall where she could practice, unhindered by the confines of her small rectangular living room.

After hours of asking local street vendors, shop owners and even asking her scary landlady for options; Lucy began to give up hope.

The sky was turning to dusk when her tired and weary body carried her to a little cafe by the name of 'Strauss Coffee', which she had accidentally found one morning while looking for a quiet place to read her new book; bored and uninspired by the confines of being stuck in her home. The skies had turned from a glorious blue to a dull grey and rain had begun to pour down.

With a shriek, Lucy tucked her book into the front of her summer jacket and looked around for the nearest open shop door she could possibly shelter in until the driving rain passed.

Without looking at the name, the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted into her nose as she quickly opened and shut the glass door; the airy tinkle of a bell above the door caused the chatter from within to suddenly quiet and Lucy suddenly found herself at the center of attention from a whole myriad of strange and colourful characters.

Lucy simply stood there and blinked, her cheeks turning red as she suddenly found herself at the center of attention from catcalls and excited whispers from several of the men in the cafe.

"_Wow! Hey there cutie!"_

"_Looks like our Mira's got some competition!"_

"Oh my! You poor thing you must be drenched, please sit and warm up." Came the welcoming voice of a woman who Lucy briefly noted had long flowing hair of what looked like the purest white she had ever seen. "Lisanna would you fetch this young lady a towel so she can dry off?"

"Right away, Sis."

Lucy looked up into a pair of kind eyes as she was helped into an empty seat by the beautiful young woman who had told her to sit and warm up.

"My my aren't you stunning, what's a young lady such as yourself doing outside in this weather?" The lady asked with a motherly air to her.

"Well, I was actually trying to find a place to read my book until the heavens opened and decided to make my top see-through for a bunch of sleazy old men." Lucy turned to glare at the two men who were sitting playing a card game in the far corner of the cafe, who immediately shrunk into their seats.

"Holy hell, she's cute but nearly as scary as Erza!" Whimpered the man on the left with a pipe hanging from his mouth and a fur coat that looked as though it was crusted in pipe smoke.

Lucy jumped in her seat as the kind white haired woman suddenly turned on the two men with a look of unbridled fury.

"WAKABA, MACAO! YOU WILL APPOLOGISE TO –"

"U-Uh...Lu-cy." The blond whispered meekly in terror.

"-LUCY RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME MAVIS I WILL SET ERZA ON YOU!"

It was quite something to see two grown men absolutely terrified of a single woman, and quite frankly Lucy too was quivering in fear of this she-demon in the package of who she assumed was a white haired angel.

It was when Lucy began to look around the strange little cafe that her brown eyes met the curious and heated gaze of a young man sitting alone in the back corner whom she had a feeling had been watching her since the moment she stepped into the cafe.

She felt her heart rate begin to speed up as she watched him smirk at her with a fanged grin. Lucy felt her body flush in a different way as his pretty eyes looked her up and down lazily, as though sussing her out.

His face was handsome, tanned and smooth except for the jagged scar marking his right cheek; there was something exotic about his pink spikes that fell around his face and Lucy felt herself dropping her gaze in appreciation of the open black vest showing a set of rock solid abs ending in a pair of white baggy harem pants slung low on his hips. A pair of black boots and matching black wrist bands completed the look.

Everything about the man screamed danger, but not in a bad way; it was the kind of danger that left Lucy feeling hot and bothered and achy inside.

She quickly shook her head and bit her lip to keep from moaning as his drool worthy muscles flexed with his husky chuckle and the dancer dragged her eyes away before she melted into a puddle of water on the floor of the cafe.

"My name is Mira, it's nice to meet you Lucy." The blond diverted her attention back to the kind smile of the terrifying she-devil who was now back to her sweet self. "I run this cafe with my sister Lisanna and my brother Elfman during the summer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mira. I'm Lucy, I recently moved to town from Crocus."

And the rest was history.

Lucy had been welcomed by the strange bunch of people and she had returned to the cafe daily ever since to read her book. Once or twice she could feel the heat of those gorgeous eyes staring her down (not unwelcomed, she privately added) from his corner table. Never speaking, simply watching her.

The three Strauss siblings moved around each other with all the grace and poise of a well choreographed routine that had Lucy swearing they had to have some form of training in dance. They filled orders and carried trays laden with heavy plates and cups, never once spilling a drop or a single plate of food falling to the floor.

It was on the fourth day that Mira finally asked her about her book while whisking her empty plate and mug of coffee away gracefully, Lucy smiled and looked up at Mira.

"My that doesn't look like any book I have ever seen before, where did you get something like that?" Mira enquired with interest, casting a quick glance at the diagrams of footwork and hand movements.

"My late mother gave it to me, I'm a dancer and she left me this book, among other things. I've actually been looking for somewhere large an open to practice, would you happen to know of a place?" Lucy enquired.

Mira looked thoughtful for a moment before she smiled.

"As a matter of fact I do, but what would you be practicing exactly?" Mira tilted her head with a smile.

Lucy felt a little giddy bubble of excitement well up within her as she showed her new waitress friend the cover of the book. Her smile dropped however as Mira read the name of the cover aloud.

"'Star Flower by Layla Heartfilia'" Lucy felt the force of dozens of utensils, crockery and glasses hitting tables and the floor as every single person in the cafe stood quiet in a dead silence.

Lucy felt a strange sense of foreboding as a tiny, but neatly dressed old man with white hair and kindly eyes turned in his seat towards her.

"Now that's a name I haven't heard in twenty years."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the follows, faves and reviews, I'm surprised I could get this chapter up a few days before I was planning on it. The next up date is going to be sometime around next week. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**The strange man who revealed that he knew of Layla Heartfilia, sheds some light on a past that Lucy hardly knew much about. But some secrets are hard to handle, and what she is about to see in the Strauss Cafe has our blond dancer wondering if she needs to check herself into a doctors!**

* * *

**Chapter two – Madness and...Magic?!**

Of all of the things that Lucy had expected the little old man to say to her, the knowledge that someone had heard of her mothers name, in a small town such as this; for some strange reason, did not seem to shock her as much as she was expecting.

"Y-You knew of Layla Heartfilia?" Lucy asked the man quietly.

The man's eyes settled on her own for a moment, as though trying to regard whom she might be; there was an air of recognition on his face, but he seemed to be holding back.

"Yes and no." He replied cryptically. "Perhaps stepping somewhere to discuss things in private would be more appropriate so I might explain."

Mira stepped forwards, a frown on her face as she pointed to the door behind the cafe counter.

"You can use the office, Master."

"Thank you Mira."

Lucy watched as this 'Master' hopped down from his chair and strode off purposefully towards the back room, beckoning the confused blond to follow him. The dancer glanced round at several people as she was wove through tables, chairs and broken crockery, the sombre faces that met hers caused her stomach to jolt.

Had she said something wrong?

As the door closed behind her and the Master, Mira walked silently towards the front door of the cafe, turning the lock and switching the 'open' sign to read 'closed'; before turning towards a long blue haired woman who was sitting off to the right side of the doorway.

"Juvia, would you mind helping me clear all of this mess?"

The woman known as Juvia nodded, and rose to her feet.

"Juvia would be glad to."

* * *

Lucy almost felt as though she had stepped through a portal and into another world.

The 'office' turned out to be a rather grand room for a mere cafe. Dark oak panelled walls enclosed rows upon rows of books, stacks of papers and a large antique desk. A brass pendant light hung low above the desk, behind which sat an oxblood leather tufted armchair. The old man went to sit in this regal chair and motioned for Lucy to sit on the leather stool she was stood next to that she hadn't noticed when she walked into the room.

Lucy had the sudden urge of feeling as though she had been sent to her old Headmasters' office for rolling her hideous school uniform skirt up too high, or wearing lip-gloss in class; things she was forever being told off for.

"For formalities sake I would like to introduce myself. My name is Makarov Dreyar, I am Master of Ceremonies for the Makarov Fairy Tail Circus and have been for the last thirty-five years. I'm a Ringmaster and sole proprietor of one of the most spectacular Circus's in the world, as it were."

"A-A circus?" Lucy blinked dumbly for a moment. "That's a rather...intriguing job title. Forgive my ignorance...but I've never heard of it before." Lucy blushed.

Makarov merely smiled benignly at the blond and steepled his fingers together.

"Oh I very much doubt anyone has, my dear." He smiled whimsically at her. "You see it tends to be rather...forgettable."

A single blond eyebrow raised in confusion and she internally wondered if this man was slightly mad and eccentric. What sort of Circus owner would say their show was 'forgettable' and then smile about it?

"But that is a story you aren't yet ready to hear, you're here to talk about Layla Heartfilia."

Lucy nodded and sighed gently.

"You see, while I am well aware of her, I only ever saw her as a child." Makarov frowned sadly, before his gaze returned to Lucy. "Did you know much about your mothers' side of the family?"

Lucy shook her head sadly.

"My mother was a wonderful and beautiful woman, she never told me much about her past; only that she couldn't remember her childhood very much, but she was very close to her mother. She used to tell me stories of the stars, adventures of bright lights, flying animals and people cheering, but I'm afraid that's as much as I know."

Makarov nodded his head gently.

"Perhaps, that is where I can fill you in a little. You see Layla was born here in Magnolia, to a woman called Anna." Makarov explained gently. "Anna was a great friend of mine, so naturally, when she fell pregnant with Layla; we couldn't wait to welcome her to our family. Anna and her partner sadly didn't last so Anna moved on, raising Layla as well as running a business. You see, Anna, along with myself and few friends, are the people who founded the Fairy Tail Circus. It started out as a small affair with your basic acts, jugglers, magicians, acrobats and dancers of course...but we slowly started taking on...shall I say more unusual performers –"

Lucy was hanging on to Makarov's every word, he seemed to have the strange ability to make Lucy feel as though she was reading through the pages of a best selling novel; she wanted to peel apart every word and syllable that fell from his mouth. It was clear to see why he was Ringmaster, his way with words and ability to flow through a story had her literally on the edge of her seat. There were a strange few moments where she suddenly felt extremely tired, as though Makarov had been speaking for hours.

"- but sadly it wasn't long before tragedy struck. Anna sadly vanished without any trace one day, leaving little Layla to be forced to leave Magnolia and journey away to live with her great-aunt. I would have raised your mother in a heartbeat but sadly I was unable to adopt her. Over the years I wrote several letters, but sadly never received a response. I did hear however that she grew up to become a well known ballet dancer but sadly passed away, and that is as much as I know."

Lucy could feel a tear sliding down her cheek as she processed Makarovs' tale, to finally know something about her beloved mothers' past brought something of a sense of peace and closure to her. Perhaps she could do the same for him and complete the missing part to his story.

"I only ever met my great aunt once, it was at my mother's funeral. She never spoke a word, only smiled down at me and walked away. I can't say how my mother spent her childhood but I do know that Layla met my father Jude at aged twenty, they fell in love, moved to Crocus and soon after had me. I wanted to be just like her, kind, smart, beautiful and a dancer as good as she was. I was five years old when she collapsed at one of my dance recitals and was rushed to hospital. Multiple sclerosis, the doctor told us. Layla eventually lost the use of her body until one day she simply couldn't get out of bed one morning, and that's the day I stopped dancing. That's the day we lost her. My father and I drifted apart over several years, until I found a book in our library. I was twelve, I found a letter and in that letter was a golden key that opened a box in our attic; in that box was a beautiful whip that my mother wrote had been passed down to her from my grandmother."

"Fleuve d'etoiles." Makarov spoke suddenly.

"Yes, you know of it?" Lucy seemed surprised.

Makarov chuckled.

"Anna would spend hours pouring over that book, trying to master the melody of the 'Star Flower' dance. You see the melody cannot be played on any instrument except by the movements of the dancer. The notes required do not exist on any musical scale currently in existence and as such, is impossible to learn except by the mastery of the dance."

"Wow...no pressure then." Lucy sighed in exasperation. "It all sounds like hocus pocus to me."

"As the legend states, 'Fleuve d'etoiles' is said to have been used to summon the spirits through means of dance, it makes sense that it does not make sense to anyone but the intended wielder." Makarov smiled.

Lucy remained lost within her own thoughts for a number of moments before she crossed her arms.

"So where do I go from here?"

"If I may ask, Lucy. Why did you come here?" Makarov asked politely, his eyes regarding her as though seeming to decide on something.

"It...it's what my heart told me to do."

"And what does your heart tell you now?"

"To keep dancing."

Lucy watched the little old man smile at her and hop down from his chair, with a chuckle, Makarov guided her to follow him back through the door of the grand office and back into the cafe.

"Then let us begin."

* * *

Lucy could feel a sense of confusion as she passed back through the threshold of the door and into the cafe once again.

The dancer was positive that her chat with Makarov had taken a maximum of ten minutes, maybe pushing fifteen at most. She was absolutely positive that it had been daytime when she had followed the old man through the door, and she was even more absolutely positive that the cafe had been an absolute mess of upended chairs, broken crockery and food all over the place.

Her brown eyes trailed over to the window to find it pitch black outside, the street beyond the window lit up via lampposts, the gentle glow from windows of peoples homes and a dull shine from the almost full moon in the clear night sky above. The people in the cafe were chatting, drinking and eating on pristine and unbroken plates, no trace of mess or mayhem anywhere.

"W-wait...I think I'm going mad." Lucy could feel a headache starting to throb in her temple, she closed her eyes tightly and opened them again to find everything exactly as it was.

"Quit the mind games Gramps, is she in or not?" Lucy felt her stomach loop pleasantly as the same husky voice of the young man who had been watching her for the last few days drifted into her ears.

"Patience, Natsu. Miss Lucy is still adjusting to the time shift, it may take her a moment to regain her balance." Makarov chuckled to the handsome pink haired man who was grinning from his usual spot in the corner, who then jumped up with all the enthusiasm of a kid on their first day at school; and made his way towards her, stopping mere centimetres from her face.

Lucy felt her stomach drop out from under her and a wave of heat pulsed through her that seemed to radiate from this pink haired man, a fierce blush rose to her cheeks and she could feel sweat dripping down the back of her neck as her brown eyes met that of deep amber.

"You doin' okay, Luigi?"

"Y-You're h-hot." Lucy stammered uncomfortably.

"Gee, thanks...you're pretty fine yourse ACK!–" Natsu grinned toothily at her for a moment before he was suddenly bonked on the head by a handsome black haired mans' fist.

"She means turn down the temperature Salamander."

"Wanna go, Frosty Nips?!" Natsu turned his attention away from a dazed Lucy, who suddenly noticed that the black haired man was stark naked and she shrieked; quickly hiding her eyes and beetroot bed face behind her hands.

"NATSU, GRAY CALM DOWN!"

Lucy heard the booming voice of Makarov yelling over the excited chants of 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' and she felt herself backing into a corner. She soon wished she had kept her eyes covered, because what she saw when she did look at the scene before her; her eyes refused to believe.

The two men she assumed were Natsu and Gray were about to face off against one another, and that would be completely normal for any teenage boys about to fight...

Were the tanned pink haired young man's hair not in flames, or the black hair of the naked man's hair not frosted in ice.

Lucy quickly rubbed at her eyes but soon found herself to once again be the center of attention as the scene in front of her did not change, so she did the only thing that felt appropriate in this exact moment.

She fainted.

* * *

"Pretty drastic reaction if you ask me." A male voice drifted into her mind as she slowly regained awareness of her surroundings.

"What do you expect when she had to look at your junk, Ice Princess?" said a sarcastic male voice.

"Well considering how Juvia reacted when she saw Lily sitting in the window for the first time, I think Lucy handled it pretty well..." an amused female voice chuckled.

"Mira, how often have you seen a talking fully grown Black Jaguar sunning himself in a cafe window, eating a bowl of Kiwi fruit?"

"Point taken...it took us five hours to coax her to come out of the store room."

"It would have been sooner if Natsu and Gajeel hadn't sat making growling noises whenever the door opened..."

"Heh...classic!"

Tired and worn brown eyes fluttered open to find a circle of concerned faces staring down at her. The blond could have easily fallen back to sleep, if the warm and strong pair of arms holding her to the solid chest she was currently resting back against didn't move and steady her to a sitting position.

"Lucy, are you alright?" asked a concerned Mira.

"What a strange dream." Lucy chuckled and she let several people help her to her feet. "I'm so sorry for falling asleep while reading, Mira."

The blond turned to the white haired woman and bowed.

"How long was I out?" Lucy asked, noticing it was dark outside.

"About ten minutes..." Makarov smiled at her.

"W-What?"

"You weren't dreaming Lucy, you really did see Natsu and Gray using magic. You see, everyone before you is a member of the Fairy Tail Circus. Natsu is a Fire breather, he also uses a Bo staff and Martial Arts to manipulate flames into whatever takes his fancy. Gray uses Ice magic to freeze whatever he touches. He is also an accomplished Ice Skater." Makarov explained.

Lucy's mouth fell open and for a moment she tried to make a rational explanation for all of this.

"Mira and her two siblings are masters of Transformation Magic, themselves, animals and their surroundings...you name it, they can change it. You see the reason you have never heard of Fairy Tail Flying Circus is that to the rest of the normal world, we do not exist. The circus appears only on the full moon, once a month where the two worlds meet to enjoy a single night of spectacle, celebration and performance...and then we are promptly forgotten about as soon as the sun comes up."

Lucy had to stop for clarification in between feeling like her brain was going to explode.

"D-Did you just say...FLYING?" Her voice turned high pitched on the last word, but she couldn't help it...none of this nonsense made any sense.

"You saw Lake Scilliora on your way into town, didn't you? Unbeknownst to normal people that is where Fairy Tail is currently floating benignly completely invisible to the untrained eye."

"Why over a lake?"

"Duh, where else would a group of mages hide a giant magic circus tent in a tiny town like Magnolia, Luigi?" Natsu replied sarcastically.

"Y-You're all mad...you must have drugged my coffee to make me hallucinate or something...that must be it!" Lucy pushed away from everyone and stumbled away to the front door of the cafe. Just as she was about to pry open the door when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "I need to get outta here..."

"Lucy, believe us or not, you are part of this world of magic. Anna was a mage, as was your mother before you. You may leave if you wish to do so, but it does not change the powers you possess." Makarov spoke softly.

"And what is that, exactly? Can I change the colour of my clothes by just thinking about it? What about turning myself into a giant fruitcake?" Lucy slowly became hysterical. "Why didn't my mother tell me anything about this?!"

"Because you simply weren't ready to accept it." Makarov explained.

"Who says I accept it now?"

"Because you wouldn't have been able to walk through that cafe door if you didn't." Mira smiled. "Only those with magic in them can enter places of magic."

Lucy felt her knees give out from under her but a chair magically appeared beneath her to prevent her from falling to the floor.

"Who did that?" Lucy grumbled, looking warily around at the group.

"That was me." Makarov replied.

"So..is that your type of magic or what? Making chairs appear out of nowhere? Cause if you ask me you got the shitty end of the stick on that one." Lucy sassed nervously. "Pinkie here can turn his head into a matchstick –"

"Oi!" Natsu placed his hands indignantly on his waist.

"- Stripper over there turns into a snow cone and the she-devil can alter rooms into different dimensions."

"Not quite, it's more of a mirage...the office room didn't really exist." Mira put a finger on her lips thoughtfully.

"Bummer...I was hoping I could borrow you to make my closet at home bigger...this girl has limited space and a whole lot of a shoe problem." Lucy pointed to herself and grimaced.

"Wow, you talk allot. " Natsu piped up suddenly, earning himself a thwack from Mira.

"So..where exactly do I fit in with all this magic and madness?" Lucy asked.

Makarov simply chuckled and turned to Natsu.

"If you wouldn't mind escorting our guest, we have a new performer to introduce."

"Can't you just do the snippety snap of your fingers and magic Luigi there yourself?" Natsu barked at the old man.

"It's a little easier to hold on to someone the first time...need I remind you the first time I transported you magically you got motion sickness and transported into the lake?" Makarov raised an eyebrow at the pinkette.

Lucy found it adorable how Natsu's cheeks suddenly turned pink and he glared at the old man.

"Geesh, ruin a guy's reputation why dontcha..."

Natsu then turned towards a confused Lucy who gasped as he snuck a tanned and muscled arm around her waist, yanked her into his arms and held her tightly. The blond couldn't help the way her breath hitched at how good the taller man smelled and felt as he held onto her.

"Better hold on tight to me, Luigi." He whispered. "Don't want ya flying away from me."

"I-It's Lucy." She hissed at him half-heartedly.

"I know...I just like how cute and flustered you get when I call you Luigi."

Lucy shrieked in surprise as Makarov snapped his fingers and a dozen people magically disappeared from the little cafe, seemingly into nowhere.

But nobody on the street outside paid any notice, as for them, there was no cafe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three – Booby Bandit and The Great Blondini**

The feeling of complete disorientation was the first thing that hit Lucy as she felt herself disappear from one location, to then suddenly appear in another. There was a strange buzzing in her ears, and it was a bit like her whole body had been wrenched sideways at great speed, and, had she not been held tightly upright in a pair of warm and strong arms; Lucy would bet she'd have fallen over. Her eyes were tightly shut as she clung to Natsu, letting her looping insides go back to normal as she felt their feet hit solid ground.

The second thing to hit the blond was the warmth of a hand soothingly rubbing her back, as though trying to calm her down. Natsu had his chin resting on the top of her head and Lucy had to stop herself before she snuggled into the crook of his neck and never let go. It was so odd that she barely knew the man, yet she felt completely happy and content as he held her; it was as though the concept of personal space didn't exist to him. She supposed that it was the lack of affection in her teens that made his touch so welcoming.

"I gotcha Luigi."

With a blush, Lucy pulled away from his embrace and looked up at him, Natsu showed no signs that he would be letting her go anytime soon; not that she minded being held with those tanned, muscled arms, but she was beginning to feel like a helpless heroine in a dramatic romance novel who swooned over the handsome stranger who rescued the damsel.

And Lucy Heartfilia was no helpless damsel in distress.

"It's Lucy!" She raised a finger to jab half-heartedly at his chest. "L-U-C-Y...spell it out, pinkie!"

"L-U..." Natsu grinned mischievously. "I-G-I...got it."

Her huff of anger and attempt to stomp on his foot was met with a cheeky grin and a bark of maniacal laughter as he finally let her go.

"If you two are quite finished flirting, shall we get on with the tour?" Makarov remarked dryly, suddenly alerting Lucy to the fact that her little exchange with the playful and handsome Fire Breather had been witnessed by not only the entire occupants that had been with them in the cafe, but including a whole two dozen other new and unfamiliar faces.

"We aren't flirting!" both Natsu and Lucy yelled at the same time, not helping their situation one bit as their amused audience laughed at them uproariously.

"Sure you weren't..." Grey folded his arms and grinned with a raised eyebrow.

"Never thought I'd see the day Salamander would snag a cutie like her!" another voice called from the back of the crowd.

"So who's taking bets on how long Mira takes to play matchmaker?"

"QUIET!" Makarov barked loudly over the crowd, launching into a tirade about the proper way to make guests feel welcome.

Lucy felt her entire face turn a lovely shade of beetroot, before her eyes drifted over to a pair of amber eyes belonging to an equally embarrassed Natsu, who was scratching his head uncomfortably and shooting her uneasy looks. For all of the pinkettes teasing and bravado, and as cute as it was to see him getting all flustered for once; Lucy decided to break the tension between them and stuck her tongue out at him cheekily.

As much as Lucy admitted to herself how attractive Natsu was and how warm and playful his personality seemed, she wanted to get to know him a little better before she started getting ahead of herself; she hardly knew a thing about him. Maybe they should start by being friends, and then seeing where things went from there?

Unaware of the blonds internal musing, Natsu raised an eyebrow at blinked in surprise at her actions, with a chuckle, he folded his arms and stepped towards her.

"Looks like we're gonna be the butt of everyone's jokes for a while." Natsu laughed. "I can be pretty 'in your face' most of the time so feel free to tell me to back off if I make you uncomfortable, okay?"

Lucy smiled kindly at the pinkette, glad that they seemed to be on the same page.

"Y-You don't make me uncomfortable, Natsu. If anything it's the complete opposite –" Lucy squeaked and quickly placed a hand over her mouth before she ³could blurt anything else out. "-Um...wait that came out wrong!"

Oh Stars, did she wish the floor would open up and swallow her whole right about now...

Natsu laughed hysterically and uncrossed his arms to place his hands on his hips, causing Lucy's eyes to dart traitorously between his glorious abs and his laughing face.

"You're such a weirdo, Luce!"

"Excuse me?! I'm a weirdo? Who is the one with bright pink hair who can light their body on fire!" Lucy grinned at him, hands on her hips as she leaned forwards.

"It's salmon!"

"Pinkish..."

"SALMON!"

* * *

Eventually Master Makarov did actually manage to get started with the tour of the Fairy Tail Circus tent, once Natsu and Lucy had stopped arguing back and forth about the exact shade of his hair colour.

The blond dancer had been so distracted by the rosy haired idiot that she had failed to notice the vast scale and opulence of the main ring and when she took in the sight before her; she gasped incredulously.

"Miss Heartfilia, welcome to the Flying Fairy Tail Circus!" Makarov had boomed dramatically.

It was unlike any circus tent she had ever seen before.

Lucy felt like she had been transported to the middle of a bazaar in a hot and sandy desert country. Sumptuous gold fabric lined the walls of the tent, which had to be fifty or more meters across and almost twice as tall. Rich jewel toned drapes of purple, mustard and teal hung from the center opening where the stars could be seen twinkling in the inky blue night. If she squinted she could see a red and yellow flag bearing the same oddly shaped bird-like symbol she had noticed briefly on Natsu's arm, flying proudly at the very pinnacle of the tent. What looked like magical glowing orbs were strung up like fairy lights down each side of octagonal structure, lighting the large central circular stage which seemed to be a large and solid slab of white glittering stone; perhaps quartz or alabaster but it was twenty meters across from end to end and looked impossible to move.

The ring was devoid of any circus props or stands but Lucy suspected it was because the last full moon had been before she moved to Magnolia, so there would be no need for them in the ring until the night of the next performance.

Lucy wished she had managed to catch the last performance, the blond voiced her thoughts to a smiling Makarov; who chuckled and looked up at her thoughtfully.

"Well the next full moon is less than two weeks away, so you won't have long to wait; it is too soon for you to become a fully fledged performer just yet so you are more than welcome to join the crowds to watch." Makarov spoke kindly. "Our performers train and practice here most days in the ring, in between their normal jobs; and I am happy to offer you use of this space to practice while you need to."

Lucy felt a sense of gratitude wash over her as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly like a little school girl, when one thing Makarov had said peaked her intrigue.

"Their normal jobs?" Lucy inquired with a tilt of her head.

"Yes, most of the performers have...vaguely...normal day jobs." Mira spoke up from behind Lucy. "My siblings and I run the cafe, Makarov is a member of the Magic Council –"

"There's a magic council?" Lucy asked in shock.

"Of course, magic is an ancient and secret art Miss Heartfilia. Centuries ago magic was commonplace, mages lived alongside non magic folk in relative peace. Spells and potions freely traded in markets for Jewel, magical creatures roamed the land and Guilds and the like existed for mages to join and take on job requests and find information." Makarov explained. "Sadly there was a great war between mages and normal people who had grown to hate one another, and, after many battles where countless lives were lost; it was agreed upon that mages would go into hiding. Magic would exist in secret, and thus, prevent another great war."

"T-That's awful." Lucy frowned at the thought that magic had all but been forced into the shadows. She looked across the sea of heads surrounding her. "But I'm glad that magic didn't disappear completely...or I'd have never stumbled into a strange little coffee shop in a little market town and discovered the truth about my mother."

Lucy felt a tear slide down her cheek as her eyes met Makarov's, his kind smile brought her a sense of home and family that she hadn't felt since her wonderful mother had sadly passed away.

"Fairy Tail is a family, first and foremost. One where you have always had a place, my dear."

Lucy chuckled and wiped away another few stray tears as shouts rung around the room of '_Hear hear!' _and '_Well said!'_, Natsu grinned toothily at her and reached a hand across, holding it open for her to place her own hand on top of his.

"Welcome home, Luigi."

The blond looked at his hand for a moment, before she laughed and accepted gleefully.

"Natsu, if you wouldn't mind?" Makarov nodded cryptically to the pink haired man, causing Lucy to become confused as to why he was holding the top of her right hand tightly in his grip.

"Hold still a minute, 'kay?" Natsu whispered.

"W-Why?" Lucy asked, her cheeks reddening as the Fire Breather pulled her closer.

"You trust me don't you?" Natsu was gazing down at her, an easy smile on his handsome face. Lucy found it hard not to trust him when he was looking at her like that.

"Of course, but wha-"

"This is gonna sting for a minute, but just stick with it, okay?"

Lucy nodded and felt her right hand begin to warm considerably. At first it was a bearable heat, but soon she couldn't help but hiss slightly as the back of her right hand began to sting, just as Natsu had said it would.

And then, as fast as the stinging came, it quickly went away again.

"You're a strong one Luce, Ice Princess whined like a bitch when he received his mark." Natsu let go of the blondes hand and took a step back from her.

"That's bullshit, Flame Brain –" Gray protested from behind Natsu, several people quickly held the Ice Mage back from striking the Fire Breather.

Lucy looked at the pinkette for a moment before she raised her right hand to look at, where had once been pale skin now sat a pink insignia of the Fairy Tail symbol marking her place within her new family.

"Pink?" Lucy raised an eyebrow at Natsu, who grinned back at her mischievously.

"Payback for calling me 'Pinkie'."

"Well stop calling me 'Luigi' and I'll stop calling you 'Pinkie'." Lucy huffed tartly and folded her arms. "Or would you prefer 'Candyfloss', 'Rosie' or 'Bubble-gum'?"

Instead of angering the pinkette like Lucy intended, Natsu merely blinked at her for a moment before he bent over and laughed so hard that she had a hard time not laughing along with him.

"Aww man, those are some good ones...dammit! Oh go on then, I'll stop calling you 'Luigi'." Natsu grinned cheekily at her.

"Thank –"

"But 'Luce' stays, deal?" Natsu whispered huskily so only she could hear him over the laughter of the rest of Fairy Tail.

"Hmm...I don't mind that one so much...but only if you call me that." Lucy winked at the pinkette.

* * *

It had taken a few days for Lucy to get used to the new tattoo on her hand, but she wore it proudly; even if no one but her and her new friends knew what it stood for.

It had also taken her a few days to get used seeing a huge red, black and golden tent floating weightlessly over the crystal clear waters of Magnolia's vast lake; completely unknown to the regular non magic folk.

It had caused quite the commotion when she had stepped out of her little apartment the morning after her induction into Fairy Tail to shriek in surprise as her wide brown eyes spotted the hovering brightly coloured building across the town; several people had looked at her strangely while a few other had whispered how odd she was and walked away quickly; leaving her to blush in embarrassment.

After the remainder of the tour of the building, including the changing rooms, a gym and a green room of sorts where performers would relax after the show; Makarov had then pointed out that her new Fairy Tail mark would now allow her to see the Circus tent, as it floated over Lake Scilliora; which only members of Fairy Tail were able to do.

Lucy had also been given a sheet of parchment with a training schedule of sorts for the next month.

Magic training three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She had also been pointed in the direction of a woman called Levy McGarden, who apparently worked at the Magnolia library, to broaden her knowledge of the magical world.

She was planning to visit the Library after her first training session, eager to get the chance to pour over tomes of the Magical World.

Lucy was extremely grateful that her father's generous monetary gift would allow her to concentrate on her training, without the added pressure of finding a job to pay the bills for the next several months.

Today was a Monday, and Lucy had bathed and gotten ready extra early in order to be on time for her first training lesson. Her first week would be focussing on conjuring her magic, and keeping it contained without expending too much energy. Lucy waved once again at the two men who wished her a 'Good Morning!' as she all but ran along the canal in the beaming morning sun, extremely glad that she had chosen a comfy pair of light denim shorts, a purple tank top and white sneakers.

Not being too sure on what she needed to wear for Magic training, Lucy had also packed some gym leggings, a sports bra and her comfiest pair of trainers; just in case.

Luckily her dancing kept her in good fitness, so she hoped to at least be able to keep up during her training.

"Luce!"

The blonde looked around startled for a moment before her eyes fell on the familiar pink head of Natsu Dragneel, who was jogging towards her holding what she presumed was a large bag of snacks. In the short time that she had gotten to know Natsu, they had become fast friends; and from what she had gathered very early on from joining him at several mealtimes at Strauss Cafe, was that she had never seen a man with a bigger appetite.

He also had a very bad habit of sneaking into her apartment at random times of the day. Lucy didn't know how many more times she could stand the embarrassment of one of the hottest guys she had ever met seeing her prancing round her living room in just a towel and a green face mask.

Lucy had swiftly booted him out the first time it had happened when he called her a 'frog monster'.

"Good morning Natsu!" Lucy stopped and waved to him, smiling as she took in his handsome smile and dishevelled pink spikes. "Were you on your way to Fairy Tail too?"

"Yup, wanna walk with us?" Natsu beamed cryptically.

"U-Us?" Lucy tilted her head in confusion before her eyes were quickly drawn to his white scarf as it twitched slightly. Lucy blinked a few times and then watched it move again. "Is your scarf possessed?"

Natsu laughed and reached down to grab hold of her hand.

"Nope...it's just hiding a special buddy of mine that's been pestering to meet you for days."

"Oh."

And with that frankly vague titbit of information from the Fire Breather, Lucy was all but dragged off at high speed with a squeal of alarm.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia would be proud to say that she didn't think that Natsu could do or say anything more to surprise her as they sat at a window table in the corner of Strauss Cafe, enjoying a hearty breakfast.

Boy was she wrong.

Not only did the boisterous pinkette breathe and control Fire...he also apparently had a bright blue and white cat who could talk...and fly!

Yes, Lucy had taken a moment to process that thought too.

Happy was an adorable (or so she thought at first) bundle of energy who had made his entrance by literally popping out of his owners scarf, taking one look at Lucy's surprised face and cheekily told her that her boobs were huge!

The blond had squeaked in embarrassment as the cat then proceeded to try and use her cleavage as a trampoline, leaving her face beetroot red while Natsu was reduced to rolling around on the floor of the cafe in tears of laughter.

The cat had then hopped down onto Lucy's lap, curled up into a cute bundle of cyan fur and proceeded to doze off, purring contently.

Lucy had looked over at Natsu with a surprised expression, her mortification forgotten as she smiled happily at the pinkette; she reached down to scratch Happy behind the ears. Okay, maybe he could be cute...sometimes.

"Okay so apart from the Fire Magic, bottomless stomach and the pervy blue cat...are you hiding any other surprises?" Lucy sighed as she finished her plate of Mira's famous fried breakfast and looked over at Natsu, who was on his sixth plate of the same meal and had so far splashed hot sauce in her hair...twice. "Any more weird personality quirks or hidden talents?"

Natsu looked thoughtful for a moment before he grinned toothily at his blond friend.

"I shoot Fire out of my nose when I sneeze?"

"Y'know next to the Flying Sarcastic Cat that's not actually that surprising -"

"I'm not a cat, I'm an Exceed." Happy muttered sleepily from Lucy's lap.

"What is that?" Lucy enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"He's a magical animal from another dimension parallel to this one, he hatched out of an egg about six years ago and Lisanna and I raised him."

"Huh...that was my next guess...after him being some sort of demon Booby Bandit!" Lucy giggled and scratched Happy's large ears again.

"Nah, he just likes teasing...just be sure to keep a healthy supply of fish for him and he won't bother you so much. I forgot once and he stole all of Erza's underwear, strung them all up at Fairy Tail one performance night and then told her I'd done it!" Natsu shuddered at what to him, must have been a horrific memory.

"Who's Erza?" Lucy asked.

"Only the scariest woman you will ever meet in your life! She's terrifying!" Natsu visibly paled and Lucy giggled as he quickly looked round the cafe in case this 'Erza' suddenly appeared. "She kicked me so hard I went flying through 3 concrete walls!"

Lucy shuddered in fright...there was a woman in this world that was scarier than Aquarius? She quickly made a mental shopping list of fresh fish for Happy and to find a good health insurance plan.

"Wow and I thought my old nanny was scary." Lucy grimaced.

The three of them descended into a comfortable silence as they finished their meals, paid Mira and gathered their belongings.

"So, Luce...you ready for your training?" Natsu turned to her and grinned.

"I won't lie and say I'm a little nervous, but I am curious as to who is going to be training me."

"Oh don't worry, you'll see!"

* * *

This was entirely unfair, Lucy thought privately as she stood on the large stone circle in the center of the Fairy Tail tent roughly two and a half hours later.

It was pushing lunch and the blond was starting to feel peckish.

Her cheeks were flushed and the scent of a burning log fire wafted in through her nostrils, her left eye opening just enough to peek out at the man through long eyelashes as he silently drifted around her.

Just how the heck was she supposed be concentrating on calling forth any of her magical energy when Natsu Dragneel was circling her, completely topless, his baggy white pants slung low on his hips; bare and powerful calf muscles wrapped with the same white bandages he had wrapped around his hands?

"Okay, breath in...hold it." Natsu whispered, his warm breath teasing her ear as he stood behind her. "Now concentrate on that ball of energy and try and force it out of your body."

Lucy shuddered in delight as his warm but rough hands settled on her waist, right where the bare skin of her high waisted gym leggings met her sports bra.

They were on her fourth attempt to call forth her magic, and so far the only thing that Natsu had managed to do was get her all hot and bothered with that glorious body of his and that low, husky voice that he only seemed to use for her.

"T-This isn't working, Natsu." Lucy sighed, her eyes drifting open in disappointment.

"You aren't going to get it first time Luce, why don't we try once more and then break for lunch?"

"Sure, once more couldn't hurt." Lucy flushed as the old lady in her mind traitorously told her if she stopped ogling his abs, she might start getting somewhere.

"Okay...instead of a ball of energy, try and imagine a sky of stars."

Natsu tried a different approach, he couldn't help the shiver that travelled through him as he let his hands drift down her toned arms to gently grab her hands and enclose them in his own. A grin came to his face when he heard Lucy let out a little breathy hum as her arms erupted in Goosebumps from his touch.

"The stars aren't very bright so you have to will them to shine brigh-"

In that moment, Natsu had to close his eyes and jump back from Lucy as she gasped and her entire body began to glow a fuzzy but bright gold and blue. He watched through half closed eyes as a dome of energy began to swirl around her, the gold and blue merging together in swirls of colour. It was though she was channelling pure starlight through her body.

The Fire Mage had never seen any magic quite like it, maybe the nearest comparison was watching Laxus, Makarov's Grandson, using his Lightning Magic.

He walked silently around Lucy to stand in front of her, his breath hitching as he watched her beautiful face smiling gently as her golden hair fluttered as though in a gentle breeze around her face.

"How do ya feel?" Natsu asked.

"I feel warm." Lucy whispered. "Is anything happening?"

"Well if by 'happening' you mean we're in luck if Fairy Tail ever gets a power outage...then yeah."

Lucy could hear Natsu snickering and when she opened her eyes, all she could see was a fuzzy goldish blue colour, her eyes widened and she brought her hands up to her face.

"Holy shit!" Lucy exclaimed, before she started to panic and started wafting her hands back and forth as though trying to put out a fire. "How do I turn it off?!"

Natsu cracked up with laughter as he watched Lucy trying to write her name quickly in the air with two fingers, acting like a child who had just discovered sparklers. Her glee was infectious as she giggled happily and started spinning in a circle.

"Easy Luce, don't wantcha to get dizz-" Natsu laughed as she then ungracefully tripped over her own foot, distracting her from maintaining her magic; which then disappeared into thin air as Natsu caught her before she could fall over.

"Whoops." Lucy flushed pink from her stumble, but smiled up at Natsu. "I think I felt my mom with me...is that weird?"

Natsu watched a single tear slide down her cheek and before he could stop himself, the Fire Mage had reached up to wipe it away from her face as he shook his head.

Lucy felt her breath hitch as her eyes took in the soft expression on his face.

"I feel my old man with me when I use Fire Magic...it's nice...it feels like he's still close, even though he's not here anymore."

Lucy raised a hand to rest it reassuringly on his shoulder.

"That's a nice thought...that those we've lost are still with us somehow, y'know?"

Natsu chuckled and folded his arms.

"I'm kinda glad old Igneel isn't floating round as a ghost annoying me...Fairy Tail already has one spirit, we don't need any more!"

"W-What?!"

"Hey! I'm not a ghost!"

Lucy jumped as a disembodied girls' voice argued with the pinkette.

"Oh, hey Mavis!" Natsu looked around Lucy's shoulder and grinned at someone, holding a hand up in greeting.

Lucy suddenly felt as though an icy bucket of cold water had been tipped over her entire body as she quickly turned around. Standing behind her was a young woman who couldn't have been much taller than Master Makarov, she looked around mid teens with floor length wavy blond hair, dressed in a slightly old fashioned pink gown with lace detailing.

She was also completely transparent and was floating a foot off of the ground.

"Hi, you must be new, I'm Mavis!"

Lucy couldn't help the shiver of fright that took over her entire body as she shrieked in terror and hid behind Natsu. If there was one thing she was deathly afraid of in this world, it was ghosts.

"A-A...G-GHOST!"

* * *

"Damnit, if she's going to keep fainting over the smallest thing then –" Gray Fullbuster chuckled to himself as he and several occupants of the Strauss Cafe crowded round Natsu, who was sitting back against the window booth by the door; cradling a unconscious Lucy in his arms while waiting for her to wake up.

"I didn't know she was afraid of ghosts!" Natsu argued.

"As I was saying, if she's going to keep fainting over everything then maybe we should give her a helmet to stop her hitting her head."

"Hmn...Natsu make the noisy stripper stop talking..." Lucy murmured sleepily.

Natsu smiled down at her as her big brown eyes fluttered open and she looked up at her pink friend, before her gaze travelled over to Mira, Gray and then back to Natsu.

"Sleep well Luce?" Natsu teased gently.

"Next time warn me in advance if there are haunted places nearby?" Lucy shivered in his arms.

"Well Mavis isn't a ghost...she's more of a projection." Mira smiled sweetly. "She's one of the founders of Fairy Tail, her body was encased in Lacrima Crystal many years ago due to a curse from a Dark Mage. She's still alive and so her astral body wanders the world looking for a way to break the spell on her...strangely enough Mavis enjoys hiding in the ladies bathroom and floating out of the U bend."

"Oh, I see." Lucy sighed, still slightly freaked out but feeling better than she had been.

"So how did your magic training lesson go?" Mira asked conversationally, sweeping away a few empty glasses and plated from a nearby table with practiced ease.

"Luce struggled at first but can now turn herself into a glow worm." Natsu grinned cheekily, avoiding Lucy's swipe at his chest. "If she keeps it up I can just see her performance now – 'Come and see The Great Blondini, Human Light Bulb!'"

Natsu's laughter quickly stopped as Lucy slowly turned around in his arms and gave him a look so frightening that it almost felt as though Erza had returned early from her latest job.

"Run...Dragneel."


	4. Chapter 4

**Holy smokes, I'm actually earlier than planned with the next chapter! I've been writing this bit by bit since celebrating my birthday last Sunday, I was going to post it Wednesday but figured why make my amazing readers wait? Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter four – Slides, Sparing and Smooches**

When Master Makarov had instructed Lucy to pay a visit to the Magnolia Library and seek the help of a woman called Levy McGarden, the dancer had briefly pictured a stern little old lady with grey hair, spectacles and dressed in a moth eaten cardigan and a tweed skirt; buried under a mountain of dusty old books and glaring at anyone who so dared as to breathe too loudly in her precious library.

As it turned out, Magnolia's Library was nestled into a cosy room just behind the pulpit of Kardia Cathedral. Lucy suspected she never would have found the heavy oak door behind a threadbare tapestry that hung above a grand stone archway that stretched all the way to the vaulted ceiling. A minister of the cathedral had kindly pointed her in the right direction after she had spent ten minutes standing in one of the aisles looking thoroughly confused.

The blond chuckled when a brief flashback of an adorably pouting Natsu was told by an amused Mira that Lucy wouldn't be able to hang out after her first training session and would have to amuse himself while his newest friend had to visit the Library.

Speaking of which, the room was made of thick stone walls, two large arched windows let in daylight to the right of the room. To the left, rows upon rows of floor to ceiling dark brown bookcases groaned under the weight of thousands of books of every colour imaginable; a large and heavy looking oak table surrounded by antique mismatched chairs sat in the center of the room.

Near the doorway, a similar desk to the one Lucy had seen in Makarov's office lay over stacked with books piled precariously on top of one another.

There didn't seem to be anyone in the Library, strangely.

"Hello? I'm looking for a woman named Levy?" Lucy called out into the room, hoping she hadn't made a wasted journey and that no one was going to jump out at her.

Much to her happiness, there was a surprised 'eep!' from behind the book laden desk, the sound of a scraping chair on stone floor and Lucy felt her eyes widen as a girl came out from behind the desk.

Well, she was right about the woman being little and being buried under a mountain of old tomes, but that was about it.

"Yes, I'm Levy McGarden...may I help you?"

Levy McGarden it seemed was not an old lady, but a pretty girl around Lucy's age. Her hair was an azure blue, styled with an orange headband to tame her spikey shoulder length tresses, she was several inches shorter than Lucy and wore a cute off the shoulder, knee length orange and white dress with ruffles at the sleeves, neckline and hem of the skirt.

She was adorable, but Lucy had a feeling that there was much more to the bluenette than first appeared.

"Please forgive the mess, this place doesn't get many visitors...I swear I spend more time dusting the books that I do serving customers!"

"Oh! Don't worry, this place is wonderful! My name is Lucy Heartfilia, Master Makarov sent me to look for some books?" Lucy smiled politely.

Levy blinked for a second before a flash of recognition drifted over her face.

"Ah, you must be the new recruit!" Levy giggled. "My boyfriend told me about you after you wandered into the cafe last week, although I'm confused as to why he called you 'Bunny Girl'..."

Lucy blushed and placed her hands indignantly on her hips.

"Why is everyone at Fairy Tail giving me random nicknames? I thought Natsu was bad enough calling me 'Luigi'!"

Levy laughed merrily again.

"You must be close to Natsu if he's given you a nickname, he's always been a goofball." Levy smiled "And I wouldn't take my boyfriend Gajeel seriously with his nickname...the man calls me 'Shrimp'!"

"Gajeel? I don't think I've met him."

"He's tall with long black spikey hair, facial piercings and is one of the grumpiest men you'll ever meet...but he's secretly a big softy. He's an iron mage and he has a fully grown black jaguar called Lily."

"Compared to a reckless fiery goofball with pink hair, no concept of personal space and a pervy blue flying cat, he sounds a delight!" Lucy chuckled and looked around at the bookcases. "It must be awesome working in a place with so many books, I love to read but I think even I would struggle to get through this many!"

"I think you and I are going to be great friends Lucy, I've never met a girl who loves books as much as I do!" Levy smiled excitedly.

"How many have you read from this Library?"

"I've been working here nearly four years and I'm on book number three thousand seven hundred and thirty six." Levy replied proudly.

Lucy felt her mouth drop open.

"That's almost three book a day!"

Levy winked and pulled a pair of red glasses with little white wings on them out of her pocket and showed them to the blond.

"Gale-force reading glasses, they are enchanted to let the wearer read ten times quicker that normal."

"Holy cow, I gotta get me a pair of these!" Lucy smiled gleefully. "Is making these glasses your magic?"

Lucy blushed at the wording of the question, but forgive her ignorance as she was new to all the types of magic in this world; there was a guy at Fairy Tail who could manipulate pipe smoke for heavens sake!

Levy didn't seem phased by the odd question and shook her head.

"No, I got those glasses from a little magic shop in Onibas. I use script magic, I can write any word in the air and it manifests into that thing. For example!"

Lucy gasped as she watched the bluenette raise a hand and wrote the word 'pen', which then turned into a golden pen and Levy plucked it from the air.

"That must be really useful." Lucy blinked in awe.

"I can't create everything, but I'm learning. My script spells only last a few minutes but as my magic power grows, I can make whatever I create last longer."

Lucy watched as the golden pen dissolved away in Levy's hand.

"So what magic do you use, Lu?"

"I'm not completely certain but according to Makarov I can use Starlight."

Levy's eyes widened and she blinked several times before she smiled excitedly.

"A celestial mage? Those are extremely rare, from what I've read about them it can take years to manifest powers. Celestial magic was much more common hundreds of years ago and remained an exclusive power to generations of the same family. These particular mages are able to summon Celestial Spirits, wield and manipulate pure light and the most powerful ones are able to open gates to other places. There are a few rumours of other powers but those have never been proven."

"Whoa..."

"I'm assuming Celestial magic passes down the female generation of your family?"

Lucy nodded, then hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

"I've only just learned about my magic heritage. Natsu helped me with my first training session but all I could do was turn myself into a golden glow worm."

Levy looked thoughtful for a moment, before she walked towards the library door and turned the lock, stowing the heavy brass key in her dress pocket for safe keeping.

"Well we won't find anything on Celestial magic in the normal section of the Library, so let me show you the...specialised section."

Lucy watched as Levy strode off towards one of the bookcases off to the far left wall and followed after her, the bluenette then raised her hand towards the bookcase and drew the word 'door' into thin air. Lucy gasped as the bookcase dissolved and was replaced by a spiral stone staircase that lead upwards. Over the course of several minutes, the two women climbed up what must have been over a hundred steps, Lucy could feel a light sheen of sweat coating her forehead by the time they made it all the way to what she assumed was the very top of the cathedral.

"W-Well I think this climb counts towards my cardio for the next week, I think my knees are about to fall off!" Lucy chuckled.

"Walking up hundreds of stairs is a great leg and hip workout, besides, going down is the fun part!" Levy giggled as her new friend gave her a confused look.

Lucy was slightly jealous of her new friends tiny waist and well sculpted legs, butt and hips. The blond found it a nightmare to fit her overly large breasts and hips into most clothes, especially having such a small waist. Having to get everything tailored to her body shape was annoying and time consuming.

They stopped at a heavy looking door that seemed to be carved out of solid marble with an ornate brass handle set into the side.

Levy paused for a moment to catch her breath and then reached out to push open the door.

"If you thought the normal section had an impressive amount of books then just wait until you see Makarov's private collection. The master has spent the better part of fifty years finding and curating every book on magic and the magical world known to mage-kind."

Lucy couldn't help the gasp as she passed though the doorway and into the magic Library.

The collection downstairs had nothing on this, rows upon rows of hundreds of bookcases spanned the entire length of the vast attic of the cathedral, tomes of every size, thickness and colour as what must have been easily several hundreds of thousands of books lined the shelves as far as the eye could see. Several sets of tables and chairs were placed at regular intervals beneath the vaulted stone ceiling, for aspiring knowledge seekers to rest while perusing their desired book.

"Holy shit!" Lucy gaped.

"Pretty impressive isn't it?" Levy beamed. "I couldn't imagine taking care of this Library as well as the added pressure of being a performer at Fairy Tail..."

Lucy looked over at Levy in surprise.

"You aren't a performer?"

Levy shook her head vehemently.

"I'm not really the type for bright lights, cheering crowds and loud noises...I'm Fairy Tail's unofficial bookkeeper, literally!" Levy smiled. "I still make time to go and watch the rehearsals and performance night."

Lucy bounced excitedly.

"Well I'm not a performer yet, so lets go and watch the show together!"

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia could honestly say that Levy McGarden was without doubt one of the most handy friends she had ever had.

The stack of four books that Levy had found for her to take home for borrowed reading were titled as such: 'An Encyclopaedia of Magic', 'The History of Magic', 'Celestial Magic and Conjuring the Stars' and finally, Lucy's personal favourite...'Magical Monsters and my Mother in Law.'

Sadly the combined height of these four large books had reached Lucy's hips and there was no way in hell she would manage to carry them herself not only down a hundred steps, let alone back to her little flat on Strawberry Street.

That was where Levy had come in, shrinking the weighty tomes into pocket sized books that would change back in a few hours. It was apparently Levy's secret to carting books up and down stairs all day and had caused Lucy to hug her new friend gratefully.

"Urgh, I wish we didn't have to walk down ten flights of stairs to get back." Lucy sighed unhappily. "I don't know how you do it everyday!"

"Oh, we don't walk back down silly." Levy smiled so sweetly that Lucy had a very sudden feeling that the small bluenette was up to something. "You don't get motion sickness do you? Only Natsu refuses to set foot in this place again after the first time I did this."

Lucy raised her eyebrow in alarm as she stopped at the top of the spiral stone staircase.

"No I don't but –"

Within seconds, Lucy watched Levy draw the word 'slide' in mid air, and after a few seconds realised what Levy was about to do.

"Off you go Lu!"

Lucy screamed in horror as she felt her feet give way from under her, and the stone steps had magically turned into a smooth spiral slide, sending her plummeting down dizzily and very quickly. The blond heard Levy whooping behind her and she soon found herself laughing in excitement as her stomach looped and spun in adrenaline.

The blond found herself holding her hands in the air as though she were on a ride, until the spinning stopped, and the two of them skid to a halt in the normal section of the library.

"We gotta do that again sometime!" Lucy got to her feet and hunched over from laughing so hard.

"Least you enjoyed it, Natsu landed in a heap on the floor and threw up all over the books on Tax Returns!" Levy giggled and got to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Same old Natsu...at least he didn't barf on anything interesting." Lucy grinned and looked out at the darkening sky outside and then at her watch. "Speaking of Natsu, I was supposed to be back at Fairy Tail an hour ago for training!"

"Whoops! Sorry, I can get a bit carried away when hunting for books!" Levy dashed towards the door and unlocked it so Lucy could leave.

The blond hugged her new friend and the two said their farewells and promised to meet again soon, before Lucy all but sprinted out of the cathedral and through the streets of Magnolia.

She was so late!

* * *

Natsu had gotten bored after the first ten minutes of waiting for his best friend to turn up for her second lesson. After laying back on the stone slab in the center of the ring and counted the Fairy lights no less than three times; he decided to sit up and do some training of his own.

He wasn't sure what was keeping Lucy, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness when he wasn't around her. He remembered the uncontrollable butterflies fluttering in his stomach when the beautiful blond had first stumbled into the coffee shop, golden hair damp, a flush of redness on her cheeks. When their eyes met he felt a jolt of electricity pass between them as the both of them unashamedly checked each other out.

Two weeks later and his feelings had only gotten stronger.

It took daily meditation to keep his powers under control, the Fire Mage drew his power from the sun, which was a volatile power source to begin with, and, as an added bonus (all sarcasm intended) his emotions controlled his power. For a man who typically felt his emotions pretty strongly; those two made a potent and sometimes destructive combination.

It was strange, especially to his friends, that a bundle of reckless energy who thrived in loud environments such as himself actually enjoyed sitting quietly by himself to focus his energy.

With a deep breath, and crossing his legs comfortably, he closed his eyes and began.

After a few moments, the air around him began to heat and shimmer hazily; pulses of orange light left his body in time with his heartbeat.

It was easy to let his mind drift off while he was sat there, his thoughts drifting from what he had for lunch, his rehearsal for the upcoming monthly performance to eventually settling on his training session earlier this morning.

Natsu had a difficult time focussing on teaching Luce how to center her energy and let it flow out of her body, he couldn't help but notice just how perfect her lithe body had looked in those tight yoga pants and crop top.

He even caught her staring heatedly at his own body on more than one occasion, so he was sure the attraction was entirely mutual. The pinkette had been testing her reactions to his touch, but Lucy didn't seem to be taking the hint.

Maybe it was time to kick his teasing up a notch.

Completely unaware of his surroundings while his mind wandered, Natsu failed to notice the blond creeping slowly towards him with a mischievous smile on her face.

It was honestly surprising to find that the pinkette was still here, let alone quietly sitting cross legged in the center of the ring with his eyes closed. Lucy guessed that he wasn't asleep because of the waves of energy pulsating out from his body, causing her insides to warm and a sheen of perspiration to coat her skin.

How could one man look so sexy while just sitting there?

The blond bit her lip as she noticed his topless torso gently flexing as he breathed in and out as he meditated, salmon locks fluttering in the hazy heat that flowed from him. Crawling towards him on her hands and knees, she stopped a few centimetres from his ear, her lips tempted to brush against his skin.

"Natsu." Lucy whispered teasingly.

Suddenly a pair of amber eyes snapped open and Lucy squeaked in surprise as a pair of strong and warm hands pushed her backwards, rolling the two of them over so that the blond was laying on her back with a dazed Fire Mage straddling her hips, holding her arms above her head and gazing down at her.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me, Luce." Natsu grinned toothily at her, his eyes flickering to her body briefly; a groan tumbled traitorously from his throat as he took in her breasts heaving in a grey sports bra, joined by a pair of black yoga pants that this time rode low on her hips and showed off a toned stomach.

Damn those yoga pants of hers...

Lucy felt a breathy sigh leave her lips as she felt his firm thighs tighten around her waist, before Natsu grinned down at her and got to his feet, pulling her up with him.

"What took you so long?" he raised an eyebrow at the blond as she gazed up at him.

"Levy got slightly carried away with the books." Lucy giggled and winked at him. "A little birdie told me someone got motion sickness from her slide trick."

His face turned green for a moment before he glared at his best friend.

"I'll get Levy back for blabbing, but for now lets get on with training." Natsu grumbled.

"So what are we doing today?" Lucy asked excitedly.

Natsu grinned evilly at her before taking a step forwards and stopping his face an inch away from hers.

"Combat training."

* * *

Lucy wasn't quite sure what sparing with Natsu had to do with magical training, but after the third consecutive time that the Fire Mage had landed her on her ass; Lucy was starting to think he was getting back at her for being late and her being sassy to him earlier.

She might have complained about it but she couldn't deny she was very much appreciating the opportunities sparing with him gave Lucy the chance to get her hands on his glorious body. The blond was completely unaware that Natsu had suggested sparing for the exact same reason.

Lucy had a hazy blush coating her cheeks and was panting heavily by the time Natsu tackled her to the floor once again, his smug grin caused a dull throb to start pulsing through her body. She couldn't help it, there was a gorgeous, sweaty and tanned male with a drool worthy body pinning her to the floor; what else was she supposed to do?

"Yield." Natsu commanded huskily.

He too was having a hard time keeping his body's reaction to hers in check, her bangs were clinging to her forehead, a light sheen of sweat was dusted over her body and her chest was heaving up and down rapidly; the left strap of her sports bra had slipped down her shoulder and he could see light pink lace peaking out from her yoga pants. Her beautiful face was flushed cutely, plush pink lips opened slightly and she was gazing up at him in a daze with those big brown eyes.

"N-No." Lucy stammered petulantly.

"Yield." Natsu murmured softly, his hands loosening on her wrists to allow his thumbs to trace along her skin back and forth teasingly.

Lucy felt her eyes fluttering in bliss for a moment, before she used a show of her strong dancers legs and rolled the two of them over, delighting in the grunt of surprise from Natsu as she pinned him to the floor and straddled his hips for the first time tonight. Heated amber eyes looked up at her before the pinkette smiled proudly up at his best friend.

"Nice one Luce, not many people can pin me down."

With a chuckle and a show of bravado that didn't come naturally to her, she felt a jolt of adrenaline and a wave of desire pumping through her body as she heard the next few words tumble from her mouth.

"It's rare to find a guy who doesn't mind a girl being on top."

Natsu blinked in surprise for a moment as his brain caught up with what his best friend had just said to him and his eyes darkened. He watched Lucy squeak in embarrassment and let go of his wrists to cover her beetroot face in mortification.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that!"

Natsu laughed as Lucy shrieked and he sat up and raised his hand to rub her bare shoulder soothingly.

"Don't be embarrassed, Luce." Natsu used his other hand to grasp her hands and peel them away from her red face.

"I'm sorry, Natsu...sometimes my brain blurts out what I'm thinking before I can stop it." Lucy sighed uneasily. "I just can't help feeling confused about...what this thing is between us."

The pinkette felt himself blushing at Lucy's words.

"We've only been friends a week, yet I find myself wanting your attention, or just to be close to you all the time and it's driving me mad." Lucy whispered.

"The feeling is mutual Luce, believe me." Natsu admitted, his heartbeat thudding strongly in his chest. "I don't wanna rush into anything but I can't fight what my body is telling me to do."

Lucy tried to catch her breath but the way Natsu was looking at her made that very difficult, a spark of happiness warmed her heart that her best friend wanted her as much as she wanted him; but she was wary that pursuing this mutual attraction between them would destabilise the strong foundation they had already built from their easy friendship.

She didn't want to loose him.

"I don't want to rush either, and what do you want to do?" Lucy lifted her hands to settle them on Natsu's strong shoulders, gazing down at him as she sat astride his hips.

Natsu felt a shiver run down his spine as Lucy touched him, his eyes darkened to a caramel colour and he settled his hands on her hips. The blond let out a breathy moan and bit at her bottom lip as she watched him licking his lips, his warm and rough hands smoothing up to her waist to squeeze her soft skin; he leaned in to nuzzle his nose into her jawline and Lucy gasped as she felt his lips ghosting across her jawline.

"Kiss you." He spoke so quietly that Lucy barely heard it.

A sharp hiss left his lips as he suddenly pulled away from the flustered blond and set them quickly both on their feet, Lucy looked torn between confusion and disappointment as she took a step towards her best friend, he simply shook his head and moved away.

"W-Wh-"

"Mira's coming." Natsu grumbled, casting Lucy a longing and apologetic look. "We'll talk about this when we get to your place, yeah?"

Lucy nodded and felt her heart thudding in anticipation, and watched as Natsu let out a beaming grin and folded his arms.

"Great practice, Luce! A few more weeks and you should be able to sustain your magic without getting out of breath." Natsu turned towards a smiling Mira, who had come to close up for the evening. "Hey Mira, Luce and I were just finishing up so we will get out of your hair."

The Transformation Mage smiled kindly at the two of them.

"No problem, the cafe was busy tonight so I'm a little late, I will see you both at breakfast! Goodnight."

Lucy blushed, torn between disappointment as Natsu threw on his vest and relief that Mira hadn't been early and caught the two of them in a compromising situation. The beautiful white haired woman was forever teasing Lucy about her close relationship with Natsu, and finding the two best friends entwined around one another certainly wouldn't help the matter.

* * *

It was a short while later that evening, around eleven o clock, when Lucy found herself unlocking the door to her apartment, a quiet Natsu trailing in behind her.

The walk home had been a silent one, the two friends walking close enough together that their fingertips brushed against each other before Natsu threaded his fingertips through hers and squeezed her hand gently, rubbing his thumb along her skin.

The only light trailing into the room was from the half full moon, shining in from her living room windows, so she walked over to her desk to switch on her table lamp and then moved over the other side of the room to close the curtains.

"W-Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Lucy asked, her nervousness at finally being alone with the pinkette showing in her voice, unaware of the determined Fire Mage quietly making his way towards her.

Lucy gasped as a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around her waist from behind, Natsu resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Nah, I don't wanna get distracted." Natsu whispered. "Just wanted to give ya a proper 'goodnight' before I left."

She felt his right hand let go from her waist and rise to sweep her golden hair over her other shoulder, before she felt her breath hitch in her throat as a pair of hot lips trailed open mouth kisses up her neck; Lucy felt her cheeks warming as she turned her cheek towards Natsu's questing lips, her eyes drifting closed in bliss as he placed a slow and lingering kiss to her jawline that almost turned her legs to jelly.

"N-Natsu." Lucy whined, before she felt the warmth of his arms leaving her, she turned around and blinked up at Natsu with rosy cheeks. With a frustrated scowl, the blond dashed forwards and reached up to pull the surprised Fire Mage down to her level by the front of his vest.

Their lips met softly at first, as though testing each other, a few more light pecks soon became something more substantial as Natsu moaned heatedly and cupped her cheek; deepening the kiss by tilting his head to the side. His warm lips teased her own as streaks of electricity travelled through her and she found herself being walked backwards as Natsu tried to make his way to the door to her apartment, while trying not to break the kiss.

It was when Lucy's hands began to wander his bare torso did the pinkette groan and force himself to pull away.

"G'night Luce, I'll see ya at the cafe tomorrow."

"Why'd you stop?" Lucy whined breathily to him, clearly annoyed at him breaking their first kiss. Natsu thought she looked extremely alluring with her flushed cheeks, swollen cherry lips and a look of want in her dazed brown eyes.

"If I don't stop, we will get carried away Luce...and we aren't ready for that yet." Natsu pressed a languid kiss to her forehead and quickly disappeared from her apartment.

Lucy locked the door behind him silently, going about her nightly routine in a frustrated daze. The dancer went to bed that evening and found herself having trouble getting to sleep, the phantom heat and spice of Natsu's kiss still lingering on her lips.

She wanted more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Yoohoo, surprise chapter 5 update! I swear i'm on a roll with this story, I don't normally update so quickly but I guess thoroughly enjoying what I'm writing does help to get the chapters out quickly. This was going to be one very long chapter, but since two major events happen, it was easier for content to split them into two. Several reviews (yes I do read every review, even if I don't get time to reply individually) picked up on wanting to see Lucy's dance...well fear not! Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter five - Dancing for the Stars**

To say that Lucy was incredibly nervous, standing in the center of the elevated platform of the Fairy Tail Circus ring, her 'Fleuve d'etoiles' in hand and her favourite ballet shoes securely laced around her ankles; would probably have been the understatement of the century.

Two long and very challenging weeks, dozens of magic lessons, hours spent pouring over hefty tomes and thirty-six failed attempts to land most of the complicated aerial moves of the 'Star Flower' dance had led the exhausted dancer up to this point. Lucy could now keep her starlight magic steady for a full twenty minutes, create energy beams of glittering gold light and had once accidentally let out so much pure white energy during meditation that she had temporarily blinded Natsu for a few minutes and caused all of the light orbs hanging from the tent to explode simultaneously.

Natsu had spent days teasing her about that one after having to explain what happened to a disgruntled Master Makarov after their lesson.

Lucy Heartfilia, after two weeks of intensive training, dance and study had blisters, bags under her eyes and had nearly sprained her ankle on more than one occasion, but her pride as a dancer refused her to accept any outside help; until an offhand comment from a curious Natsu had thrown a spanner in the works.

Lucy had been very clear to her best friend that as much as she appreciated his help during magical training, she didn't want him crashing her practice sessions to distract or make fun of her, lest she use her whip for another purpose and punish him with it; but he of course had snuck a peek through a gap in the curtains once or twice to find his best friend flinging herself into the air, twirling in a half circle and then falling to the ground in frustration. As much as it broke his heart to see the tears falling down her beautiful face, he couldn't help the pride at seeing her getting straight back to her feet and try again.

His best friend certainly had a strong spirit.

It was a few days of watching her fall that he had a brainwave...yes that was a rarity...but the rambunctious Fire Mage did occasionally have a good idea or two.

Natsu had met her after her latest practice for dinner in the cafe, with a cryptic grin, told her that if she wanted to create more momentum to spin fully in the air, having a partner to throw her would give her the power to execute those spins, without expending her energy until she was strong enough to do them by herself. He of course, would be happy to help.

Lucy had blinked after him for a moment as he walked towards their regular table of the cafe, before she grinned and rushed towards him, throwing her arms around his waist in a hug from behind as she thanked him. The pinkette had tried to control the way his breath hitched at the feeling of her lithe body pressed against him (they had both agreed to put their feelings on hold while Lucy learned as it would cause too much of a distraction), and he had pulled away reluctantly and sat down with a bashful smile.

The two friends had spent several hours discussing the problems that Lucy was having with the routine, in which Natsu apologised and admitted that he had snuck in to watch; only because he was concerned at how down she was getting at not being able to master the dance and he really hated seeing his best friend upset.

Natsu had secretly visited his childhood friend, Levy, at work to ask for her help. He had even agreed to ignore his motion sickness to accompany Levy to Makarov's private collection to try and find any information that would help his exhausted best friend even slightly.

So, back to the present day, Lucy had, after much coaxing from her best friend, finally allowed Natsu and an excited Levy, to sit and watch her full practice. It was an important step for her to get over her nervousness at being watched performing something so personal to her, especially if she was to eventually become a performer of Fairy Tail.

Lucy realised that unlike her old ballet teachers, Natsu wouldn't judge her for making a mistake; only try to help her. Levy had agreed to sit and watch, to offer any helpful insight and to also to take notes to add to Makarov's collection for future reference.

There wasn't much information in the Library on exactly how to summon spirits, and Levy had come to the conclusion that it just came naturally to the Celestial Mage to summon the Spirits in their own way.

As amusing as it was to the two girls to see Natsu studying the diagrams on footwork and poses in Lucy's book with his tongue poking out between his lips, Lucy couldn't help but shift nervously from one foot to the other as he worked; she doubted that the pinkette would be able to make much sense of the routine, Makarov himself had stated that it wouldn't make much sense to anyone but Lucy.

Even Levy hadn't been able to make head nor tails of it.

Lucy herself still didn't get understand some of the movements.

"Y'know some of these moves aren't too different from basic martial art footwork." Natsu had suddenly piped up after almost half an hour of silence. "There's also more than one set of diagrams."

Lucy felt her stomach drop, while Levy stopped her brainstorming to look over at him in surprise.

"W-What?" Lucy had been in the middle of stretching out a cramp in her right leg when Natsu had suddenly spoken, causing her to wobble on one foot.

"The diagrams show several different sets of footwork, Luce, Lev...c'mere and take a look." Natsu grinned.

Lucy bent down to place her whip gently on the floor before she padded over to her best friend while the bluenette put down her notes and also walked towards Natsu.

"Does that mean it needs more than one person to dance?" Levy asked as Natsu grinned at her and pointed out the subtle differences between the diagrams.

"I don't think so, look, there is at least a dozen sets of different footwork." Natsu frowned up at the Script Mage and showed her the subtle differences in the drawings.

"But I tried to learn every set and it makes no sense!" Lucy sighed unhappily.

"I don't think you're supposed to learn every set, Lu." Levy shook her head. "This dance is supposed to summon 'spirits', right?"

Lucy nodded and mentally recalled the information she had gathered from the book on Celestial Magic that Levy had given her from Makarovs library.

"It's supposed to summon the twelve spirits of the zodiac –" Lucy had a sudden flash of revelation and she took the book from Natsu's hand, startling him and Levy in the process as she giggled happily. "Wait! I'm not supposed to dance by myself, guys...I'm supposed to dance _with_ the spirits!"

The pinkette looked surprised for a moment, before looked over at the bluenette and they too broke out into a beaming grin.

"Now I get it, you have to summon each spirit by dancing with them!" Levy shouted excitedly, all but knocking Natsu over in her quest to return to her notes, not even sitting down before she startled scribbling all of this new information into her notepad.

"But how do you summon a spirit?" Natsu asked in confusion, rubbing his elbow from being run over by a tiny Script Mage. "Is there a magical doorbell you ring or something?"

"From my research, Celestial Mages use their magic to bind spirits to certain objects by the formation of a contract. These objects range from keys, rings, cards, anything small that can be kept nearby by the mage. The base spirits, can be contracted to more than one owner...but the Zodiacs can only be summoned by one Mage." Lucy explained. "The Zodiacs rarely choose one single Celestial Mage to own all twelve contracts."

Natsu folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"So what happens if you don't get all twelve?"

Lucy sighed and looked over at 'Fleuve d'etoiles', each of the twelve coins twinkling in the light of the orbs overhead.

"Then like my mother, and grandmother before me...I won't be able to perform the dance."

Natsu frowned at the small tear making its way down his best friends face and he pulled her into a hug.

"I believe in ya, Luce." He whispered gently. "If anyone can figure this out it's you."

"Don't worry, Lu...you won't have to do this all by yourself." Levy smiled at her from behind Natsu. "I'm excited to learn any new information to add to the Library, so count me in to help!"

Lucy giggled as Natsu slowly let go of her and smiled.

"I feel like a test subject!"

Levy blushed before clearing her throat.

"Well I can't be there for every practice, but if you could write notes –"

"Argh...not homework!" Natsu groaned unhappily, while Lucy giggled silently.

"- What I meant to say, before Natsu interrupted, was if you could keep a note Lu of what happens during your practices, we can meet up when I'm not working to go over them."

With that, Levy carefully placed her notepad and pen into the air and the two objects dissolved magically into nothing.

"Of course, I'm guessing your next shift starts soon Levy?" Lucy walked over to her smaller friend and hugged her.

"Yep, oh I wish I didn't have to work...I want to watch your dance!" Levy sighed sadly.

"Don't worry, I'll show you another time Lev." Lucy smiled at her bluenette friend.

* * *

It was after Levy had left for work that Lucy once more found herself with Natsu in the ring, him slowly walking around the outside as he watched the stunning blond, not only twirling gracefully on one foot, but doing so on pointe.

She had tied her waist length golden hair in a secure bun and was wearing a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a purple tank top.

After a quick break for lunch, Natsu had asked her to show him some basic ballet moves, having never seen any form of the dance in person before; Lucy had blushed, but agreed.

The Fire Mage could feel his heart rate picking up as her bangs of golden hair fluttered around her face as she came to a stop, her eyes looked around for him, and once they settled on his surprised but handsome face; she smiled at him. He knew he had it bad if watching his best friend doing ballet was turning him on.

"That's called a 'Pirouette'...I'm not amazing at them on my own, but I can complete six rotations before I loose momentum."

"How does it not hurt spinning on your toes like that?" Natsu said in awe, stepping back onto the platform to stand before her.

"Years of practice, I didn't graduate to pointe shoes until I was thirteen. There's a lot of stress placed on the foot when on pointe, so it takes years of practice for the bones to become strong enough to support the movements." Lucy giggled as a barefoot Natsu tried to twirl on one foot, quickly making a face of discomfort and panic as he stumbling on one leg.

"Nah, I'll leave that to the master."

Lucy couldn't help the blush that graced her cheeks.

"If you want to try something easier, why not help me 'Pirouette'? I've never tried it with a partner before." The blond smiled as Natsu nodded eagerly.

"What do I do?" he asked, trying not to let it show how eager he was to be close to her as possible.

Lucy moved him back a few steps, ignoring the flutter of electricity that simmered from her fingertips as they touched his biceps and looked up at him.

"Okay, I'll hold onto your hand, you use the momentum of your hand to keep me spinning until I tell you to stop, don't lean your body in to me or I will hit you as I spin." Lucy giggled, imagining accidentally hitting Natsu in the stomach with her knee as she spun. She then lifted herself on pointe again, her height becoming equal to his as she held loosely onto his left hand with her right and raised it over their heads. Their breaths mingled for a few moments, both of them tempted to lean in for a kiss before Natsu stopped that train of thought.

"Ok, go." Natsu grinned, his eyes tried to focus on Lucy as she began to spin in his arms, his left hand keeping up the momentum as he pushed her to spin faster. But he soon found his motion sickness rising in his stomach, so he let his eyes slide out of focus, and eventually close. The Fire Mage couldn't help the soft smile and way his eyes peeked open as he heard Lucy giggling gleefully, before she squeezed her eyes shut and stopped; tumbling into his arms dizzily.

"Whoops!" Lucy opened her eyes to find her world blurred and herself being cradled securely in his strong arms as she tried to regain her senses back. "That was awesom-"

Natsu couldn't help himself as he groaned longingly and dipped his head to press his warm lips to hers urgently, lifting his arm to cup her jawline as she sighed and closed her eyes, sinking into the kiss. Lucy felt her stomach looping in excitement for a different reason as he squeezed her waist with his other hand and tried to deepen their kiss.

With a whimper, the blond pulled away reluctantly and gazed up at Natsu with rosy cheeks and hazy eyes.

"W-We shouldn't..." Lucy whispered but lifted a hand to pull Natsu back down by the back of his neck and into another kiss, this time his lips left hers to start a trail of opened mouth kisses down her neck. The pinkette lowering his hand from her cheek to let his fingertips tease up and down her arm from shoulder to elbow.

"Just a few minutes, Luce...let me have you for a few minutes."

Goosebumps began to pepper her skin from his words murmured in between kisses and she found it very hard to force herself to pull away from him and lift her hands to cradle his cheeks.

"Not here." Lucy blushed beetroot as the wrong thing tumbled out of her traitorous mouth and she found herself moaning as Natsu growled at her. She had meant to tell him that she would rather they do this later, but when her best friend grabbed her around the back of her thighs, just underneath her butt to pick her up and carry her off the stage; she found herself gasping in delight and wrapping her legs around his hips, her left hand carding through his messy pink spikes as she pulled him in for another kiss.

How Natsu managed to not only get his legs to function properly, but also cheekily squeeze her toned ass on the way, he had no idea.

The two somehow found themselves stumbling through the curtains on the far side of the ring and into the green room, where, had Lucy want to look; sat a long grey couch, some card tables, chairs and a mini kitchen complete with a small drinks fridge.

Lucy squeaked in surprise as she found herself being gently laid back on a sofa, Natsu leaning over her, his eyes glazed over with lust and his swollen lips open as he panted softly.

She was looking up at him, her cheeks tinged with red adorably but the small but fond smile on her lips caused him to lean in and capture her lips harshly. Ribbons of pleasure shot through her as his warm but rough hands settled on her hips, fingertips teasing the hem of her tank top; dipping under it sporadically to tickle the soft skin of her belly button. Lucy whimpered as he kissed her roughly, her lips swollen from his attention. The Fire Mage then left her lips to press lingering kisses to her nose, eyelids, forehead and eventually her jawline; his hot mouth opening to trail his tongue in zigzag patterns down her neck. Lucy was trailing her hands back and forth across his back, from his hair to his trouser waistband and back again.

It was when Natsu groaned and trailed his hand up her ribcage to squeeze at her breast did Lucy moan loudly, involuntarily buck her hips up into his pelvis and pull away from him.

"S-Sorry, Luce." Natsu blushed adorably at her and removed his hand from under her top. "Didn't mean to get carried away."

She took a few moments to calm her breath before she looked up at him with a sweet smile.

"Don't apologise, I enjoyed it...but we're supposed to be putting a halt on the kissing and stuff until I have this dance figured out."

Natsu grinned bashfully and pulled away from her.

"It's damn hard keeping my hands off you when you look at me like that."

Lucy accepted his offer of a hand to pull herself to her feet and she couldn't help the way she bit her lip as he turned away towards the fridge and stretched his arms over his head, his glorious back muscles flexing as he then opened the door to pull out two water bottles.

"Well you parading round in nothing but those white baggy shorts doesn't exactly help my concentration, Natsu!"

Lucy squeaked and placed a hand over her traitorous mouth once more as Natsu grinned evilly at her, looking downright sexy as hell as he tilted his head and moved his hands towards the sash tying his trousers together, toying with the knot.

"I'm not just wearing these, I got boxers on too, Luce." He teased, laughing as Lucy blushed beetroot and folded her arms with a huff.

She was just so easy to tease sometimes!

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia was ready as she would ever be.

Another two hours of walking herself through what Natsu had figured out were the footwork for the opening part of the 'Star Flower' dance and she felt confident enough to try the first part of the routine in one go.

Natsu had corrected her on a few steps that were slightly out of place and was now stood nearby, ready to step in and help should she need it in the complicated aerial spin towards the end of the first part; but Lucy was pretty sure she would be able to manage it. There was a buzz of adrenaline simmering under her skin, she couldn't help the strange mix of excitement and terror at the unknown outcome finally trying to perform a part of the dance would bring.

"Hey...don't worry 'bout fucking it up, you got this Luigi."

Strangely, his impromptu pep talk seemed to calm her nerves and she sent him a grateful smile, she didn't even mind his silly nickname.

"Thanks Pinkie."

Lucy ignored his glare and took a deep breath, getting into fourth position, one leg in front of the other, feet pointing outwards in opposite directions. The blond flicked the wrist of her right hand to send the twelve ribbons fanning out behind her like the train of a dress, her left hand pointing upwards towards the sky.

Natsu watched, enthralled as his best friend leaned forwards on her right foot, her left rising to point behind her before she raised her right hand to meet the left. He couldn't help the gasp that left his throat as she begun to glow a fuzzy golden blue, just like her very first training session. The whip began to play a soft melody as it was twirled quickly overhead, one of the coins on the end of the whip began to shine a bright white as Lucy seemed to become fully in a trance; her eyes glazing over as she completed a series of complicated footwork that she had memorised from the book.

Lucy felt incredibly warm, her body seemed to take on a mind of it's own as the melody, which sounded like an ethereal music box of some kind, drifted into her ears; warming her heart as she felt the familiar presence of her mother. She felt the scene in front of her disappear as a starry sky appeared all around her.

It was beautiful.

The constellation of Aquarius was shining brightly in her vision, causing Lucy to feel and hear herself speaking into the room. She had no clue where the words were coming from, but they felt right as she spoke them.

"I call upon thee, Aquarius. Eleventh of the Twelve Zodiacs, come to me!" Lucy spoke loudly in a strange voice. "I bind you under contract in the name of Lucy Heartfilia!"

Natsu was stunned as he watched a beam of golden light shoot out from the almost possessed form of his best friend, he was half tempted to run towards her and pull her away from the stage, as she suddenly and perfectly performed the aerial spin they had practiced, but there was one slight problem.

Her feet never touched the ground, she was floating in mid air, a few meters off the ground.

"Holy shit..." Natsu couldn't help but swear, but seeing his best friend hovering in mid air was kind of blowing his mind right now, although he was slightly concerned in case she fell suddenly. "L-Luce?"

He was about to move towards her, but he soft smile on her face and small shake of her golden head stopped him.

Lucy was still in there, she was safe.

So he relaxed and watched the beautiful light show of thousands of golden lights begin to swirl around his best friend, her bun of golden hair falling loose as it began to flutter around her body. His jaw then dropped as the small lights began to form together into what looked like the shape of a woman.

"About time you called me you damn brat!"

Lucy suddenly felt her entire body shudder in horror as the Fairy Tail tent began to reform around her, the voice of her terrifying nanny Aquarius screeching into the room. Lucy looked over and down to Natsu, who was looking at her with his mouth wide open comically and as though she had grown a second head. The blond then gasped in surprise as she found her entire body was floating.

"Oh no, how do I get down?!"

Lucy panicked for a moment but then her whip stopped spinning, the coin of Aquarius was glowing brightly, the golden form of a woman's body floating in front of her.

Natsu looked confused at the terrified look on the beautiful blonds face, not understanding why the grumpy female voice they had both heard was causing such a reaction from the normally sassy blond.

"You okay, Luce?" Natsu whispered in alarm.

"A-Apart from being ten foot off the ground and hearing the voice of my cranky old Nanny, I'd say I'm doing swell." Lucy stammered with a terrified squeak.

"So you can turn into a light bulb, blind people and now float...go you Luce!" The pinkette cracked up with laughter, while Lucy huffed angrily.

"Quiet you insolent boy!" The same stern voice from before spoke loudly to Natsu, who turned white as a sheet and muttered apologetically.

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

Lucy watched as the golden form of a woman began to dim and merge into the familiar form of a stern and thoroughly annoyed woman with long blue hair and a permanent scowl on her face. The blonds mouth fell open as she took in that her nanny had cool blue skin, a revealing blue bikini top and, most incredibly of all, the tail of a mermaid.

"A-Aquarius? What are you doing here?!" Lucy stammered in disbelief. "And why are you dressed-"

"You really think your mother would trust anyone but her own spirits to help raise you, brat?" Aquarius spoke haughtily with a raised eyebrow. "And this is my true form, if you must know."

"Her...spirits?" Lucy repeated in confusion. "You're a Celestial Zodiac Spirit?!"

"You never wondered why your Nanny, Handmaid and Bodyguard were named after Zodiac Constellations?" Aquarius floated in front of her, looking offended.

"I just thought it was a coincidence...so does that mean Virgo and Taurus are –"

"Yes, brat. All of us are spirits contracted to Layla."

Lucy looked over to her oddly quiet best friend to find him staring wide eyed at the spirit.

"Wow...guess you were right about your Nanny being the one of the most 'terrifying woman in existence'!" The pinkette gulped uneasily, before a thoroughly pissed off Aquarius turned to glare at him, before a magical urn was summoned before her and she sent a tidal wave of water towards the Fire Mage, completely drenching him in cold seawater; soaking him to the bone and causing his sodden hair to fall heavily around his face.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle as she watched Natsu squirt salty water out of his mouth and start coughing uncontrollably, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he tried to get rid of the taste of sea water from his mouth.

"Hmm...I'm impressed you're still standing after that, Fire Boy." Aquarius smirked, watching the young man shaking his hair out as he steamed himself dry, before glaring at her.

"Fire boy? First the scary fish lady gives me a cold bath then calls me Fire Boy?!" Natsu pouted childishly.

"Call him Pinkie, he hates that." Lucy whispered evilly to the Celestial Spirit, which Natsu heard perfectly and blushed, folding his arms and sticking his nose up into the air.

"Now be a good boy and stay quiet while I work out our contract!" Aquarius snapped at Natsu. Lucy smiled when she saw the spirits' eye twitching as the Fire Mage started muttering under his breath about grumpy fish monsters.

"As I was contracted to Layla, as her daughter that contract automatically passes onto you when your powers awaken. You may summon Virgo, Taurus and I whenever you need us but you will need to summon them individually as your powers grow to go over their own contracts." Aquarius explained.

"What about the other spirits, did mom just have the three of you?" Lucy asked.

"She was also contracted with Leo, but he vanished when Layla died. He hasn't been back to the Celestial realm in twelve years, there are rumours he resides in this world under a disguise but I cannot say for sure. You cannot summon those you do not have a contract with until your power surpasses certain stages. Now as for my contract, you may summon me no more than thrice a month and I do not work on a Sunday. You must also summon me in or around water." Aquarius spoke almost in a bored tone.

"Right, any particular water?" Lucy couldn't help but ask, her mind was conjuring up amusing images of just where she could summon her new spirit.

"Careful, brat...I can see your thoughts." Aquarius threatened with a raised eyebrow. "If you so even think of summoning me from a toilet bowl I will flush you down it, do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Lucy blushed in embarrassment.

Natsu let out a peel of laughter as the scary mermaid then promptly vanished in a shower of golden sparks, before he yelped and ran towards Lucy as her eyes suddenly rolled back into her head and she collapsed in his arms.

"Luce?!" Natsu called urgently, his heart stopping momentarily until his blond best friend groaned tiredly in his arms and nuzzled into his neck.

"So sleepy." Lucy whispered dreamily, her soft lips brushing against his neck.

"C'mon Luigi, lets get you back home." Natsu chuckled softly, his fondness for how cute she was when sleepy causing him to smile.

* * *

Lucy woke up in a pair of warm and strong arms, the familiar weight of her blanket comforting her as her brown eyes fluttered open. There was a warm weight on her feet and she looked down to find a snoozing blue cat curled up at the bottom of her bed.

"Afternoon, Luce." A sleepy male voice whispered huskily in her ear, causing her to gasp heatedly as she found herself laying in Natsu's arms, her back pressed into his chest, their arms and legs entwined under the pink comforter of her bed.

"What time is it?" Lucy asked, turning her head to nuzzle into the crook of Natsu's neck, both unwilling to move and wake Happy up, and to savour the feeling of being in her best friends arms.

"It's three o clock the next day, Luce." Natsu whispered, chuckling at her gasp. "You slept for a good twenty hours, Happy and I dropped in after final dress rehearsals to see if you were gonna sleep through the rest of the day."

"Dress rehearsals?" Lucy asked, looking up at the pinkette.

Natsu grinned down at her.

"Yup, it's a full moon tonight." His fanged grin was infectious, as to Lucy, that meant one thing.

It was finally time for Fairy Tail to come to life, as it did once a month for the best show in Earthland...

* * *

**Three guesses what the next chapter is about hehe. I also apologise if my ballet terms are slightly off, it's been years since I last did ballet! See you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Phew I didn't think I was ever going to get this chapter finished! There was so much story I wanted to cram into this chapter it soon hit over 7000 words! I tried to keep it descriptive without it sounding boring so I hope I did this important chapter justice. I did have to cut the ending I had planned as I felt it disrupted the flow of the story, don't worry as it will be put in the beginning of chapter 7. Anyhoo, enjoy the performances!**

* * *

**Chapter six – The Greatest Show on Earthland**

Nightfall, in the quaint town of Magnolia.

Normally a time for most people to return home from work, greet their family and sit down for dinner; ready for a relaxing evening before bed. Others were instead strolling through the quiet streets with loved ones, contempt in each others company. Some people were walking their dogs through the park, some laden down with shopping bags and others simply taking an evening jog; but some had noticed a peculiar set of lights shifting in the clear sky around Lake Scilliora.

For those who resided in the human realm of Earthland, magic was a myth; nothing more than a simple flight of fancy reserved for daydreams and written about in fiction.

Magic did not exist.

So those who had noticed the strange goings on towards the edge of town, decided to investigate.

A hum of excitement rushed through the town as a soft and enticing melodious tune began to drift across the air, gaining in volume and urgency as crowds of confused but intrigued people walked through the streets towards the source of the noise.

Wondrous eyes soon happened upon a gigantic octagonal circus tent, rivalling Kardia Cathedral in its size, floating as if by magic; a few feet above the shores of the still waters of Lake Scilliora. Beams of lights of every colour shone out of the Circus Tent and into the sky, causing the growing crowd to gasp in delight and begin to whisper excitedly.

Somewhere to the front half of the crowd, stood a smiling Lucy Heartfilia and the slightly shorter form of her friend Levy McGarden as they grinned at each other and waited to be let into the Circus with the rest of the crowd. The two friends could hear whispers of people wondering what was going on, children yelling excitedly with large grins on their faces and some impatience as they stood there.

The blond had spent a good hour or so rushing around her little apartment, finishing her dinner, running a bath and deciding what to wear; settling on a cute white summer dress with lace trim that fell just above her knees, her hair was braided into a loose plait that hung over her left shoulder and a pair of comfy but pretty tan sandals completed her look. Lucy wouldn't have normally spent so much effort on herself, but Natsu had told her he had a surprise for her after the show. Levy had met her outside of the Cathedral and the two friends had walked the streets arm in arm as they joined the crowds of normal folk making their way towards the edge of town.

Lucy had gasped in shock as she saw the vast size of a magically expanded Fairy Tail in the distance, Levy informing her that Makarov made it bigger every month to allow thousands of townsfolk to cram inside comfortably.

"Fairy Tail only charge a few Jewel per person for entry, the money goes towards the running and repairs needed to run successfully. Makarov wants everyone to be able to enjoy an evening of magic, storytelling and spectacle!" Levy whispered conversationally.

"Who else is performing tonight? I know Natsu and Gajeel have a scripted battle but I've been so busy with practice that I haven't been able to catch any rehearsals." Lucy sighed.

While the blond had enjoyed her day off from practice, as the ring had been booked out for rehearsals for tonight's show, she was also intrigued to find out who was billed to perform.

"Gray and Juvia, the Strauss family, Natsu, Gajeel, Cana and a finale with several others and a special surprise from Makarov." Levy grinned. "Normally we would have Erza, Laxus and Gildarts performing but they are away on secret jobs for the Council."

"I've not met them yet." Lucy giggled. "I've been looking forward to meeting the woman who terrifies Natsu whenever she's mentioned!"

Levy was about to reply when the sudden sound of Master Makarov boomed out into the evening air, making everyone jump.

"_Good evening, Magnolia! Come one, come all to witness the magic and mystery of Makarov's Marvellous Flying Fairy Tail Circus! Come inside and witness the tale of a handsome Ice Prince as he yearns for the heart of a beautiful Water Witch, the fabulous Strauss Siblings and their transformations. See the Fiery Salamander as he battles the fierce Iron Dragon, the mind boggling tricks of the Card Gypsy and a finale of a special dance of blades from our magnificent Titania! Tickets are just two Jewels a pop so roll up and take your seats for the greatest show in Earthland_!"

Lucy could feel her heart rate pick up as she bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly.

"Titania? That must mean Erza's back!" Levy gushed gleefully. "Master must have been keeping her return a surprise..."

Lucy found herself smiling in interest, she had only heard tales of the fabled '_Strongest woman in Fairy Tail'_ and was eager to see this Erza in action. The Celestial Mage was wondering exactly what a 'dance of blades' entailed when her internal musing was interrupted as she felt a burst of magic in front of her.

A magical walkway suddenly appeared in front of the entrance and people began to file towards the ticket booths. The happy crowd began to filter in through the turnstiles, exchanging jewel for tickets; and when Lucy and Levy eventually reached the nearest booth, a smiling Kinana greeted them. It was strange to see the beverage assistant from the Strauss Cafe in a different setting, but Lucy didn't question the young woman as she was handed a ten jewel note from a cheerful Levy. The blond tried to protest the bluenette buying her ticket, but was promptly shut down with a half hearted glare.

"You bought me lunch on Wednesday, I'll get this Lu."

"Ah good evening Lucy and Levy! Best seats in the house for you guys, on a certain pinkettes' orders." Kinana winked, causing Lucy to blush.

"Ooh looks like someone wants our little Lucy front and center to see his performance!" Levy teased her blond friend as they thanked the purple haired young mage and followed the slowly shuffling group into the tented building.

"You can't talk...I bet you're excited to see Gajeel." Lucy teased back, smiling as Levy blushed cutely and promptly shut her mouth.

The two women made their way through the bulk of the crowd, the blonde was grateful that Levy had a good idea of where to find their seats. After a few minutes, Levy pointed the two of them towards the front row, where two seats stood empty near the curtains opposite from the entance where beyond found the backstage area, gym and green room. Lucy felt herself flushing red as she remembered Natsu carrying her into the back room just yesterday.

The blushing blonde mentally reminded herself to stop daydreaming and to pay attention to the show.

Once the crowd had found their seats, the dull hum of chatter died down as the lights abruptly lowered, leaving the tent in pitch darkness. The anticipation of the room heightened as a gentle piano melody began to play from seemingly nowhere and Lucy felt a sudden chill begin to encircle the room, causing many of the crowd to shiver.

Lucy, among several others gasped in awe as an earie blue glow began to fill the ring, glossy ice completely enclosed the tent, creating the vision that they were encased within a giant glacial cave. There was a tall pillar of ice in the very center; a beautiful woman asleep in the very center. The blond recognised the woman as Juvia Lockster, Fairy Tail's resident water Mage.

'_Our tale begins one hundred years ago in the frozen tundra of Mount Hakobe, harsh blizzards and icy winds hide a deep secret. For locked within a hidden cave, deep within the mountains; a beautiful maiden slumbers peacefully in an icy tomb, cursed to remain frozen for eternity until she is found by a brave Prince." _

The blonde looked over at her shorter friend with her mouth open, but the bluenette too was completely enthralled in the tale.

'_For many years, many brave and noble men made the journey to try and rescue the frozen maiden, but alas; none had been successful in their quest, for the men never return from the icy cavern. One day, however, a figure looms in the distance. A young prince, running from his duties and into the mountains; staggers one day into the cave, tired and weary from his travels.'_

Lucy watched with baited breath as the familiar figure of Gray Fullbuster staggered towards the pillar of ice in the center if the ring, lifting his hand to the ice as he gazed up at the frozen maiden with a look of intrigue and sorrow. He was dressed in a regal black fur lined coat, gold embroidered swirls decorating the shoulders. His trousers were also black and he had on a pair of knee high brown boots. While she privately thought the Ice Mage looked very handsome in his Princely getup, Lucy would rather not risk Juvia calling her 'love rival' again like the first time the Water Mage had found Lucy talking to Gray. The blonde suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder and turned towards Levy, Lucy tried not to laugh as she watched the script mage holding out a box of popcorn she seemed to magic out of thin air.

"Thanks." Lucy whispered, before taking a handful and absently eating as she returned her full attention to the performance.

'_For three days, the runaway Prince sat against the pillar; gazing up at the sleeping maiden, his silent companion offering nothing more than a frozen gaze and sorrow to his heart._ _For then, after three days spent in this icy cave, where so many men had perished from the cold, suddenly turned his black hair to white and blades of ice to frost his boots.'_

Gray suddenly stood to his feet, his onyx hair suddenly fluttering and freezing to an icy white, his breath frosted and icy skates appeared on his feet. Lucy watched in awe as he began skating expertly around the pillar, his blades swift as he performed several jumps, lunges and spins to a gasping and impressed audience.

'_For this brave Prince decided that he would be the one to break this beautiful maiden from her icy tomb, and so, he began to break apart the ice with his bare fists, desperate to free this strange woman.'_

Gray began to punch at the ice, using his magic to easily shatter the pillar.

'_But little did this brave young royal know, that the reason this beautiful woman had been imprisoned in an icy tomb for centuries, was to imprison her wrath from mere mortals. For this woman was no mere maiden, but a Water Witch. Locked away by the Princes own father who feared her magic so, never to see the light of another day. Little did the Prince's father know that one day his own son would happen across the Icy Prison, the boy who had grown up to know nothing about his own magic; magic that could free the imprisoned Witch.'_

The audience gasped as the icy pillar suddenly shattered, Gray shielded his eyes dramatically before he gazed up at the blue haired woman. Juvia was hovering in front of him, her body dressed in a simple but glittering blue dress, water droplets shimmering around her.

'_The Water Witch glared at the handsome young man for a moment, but upon finding not a trace of fear in his heart, only wonder in his eyes, smiled upon him and thanked him for freeing her.'_

Lucy found herself smiling slightly at the way Gray and Juvia were gazing at one another, a fondness for each other that was extremely genuine and wasn't just for the performance. It was easy to see that the two Mages were extremely close, no matter how much Gray tried to deny it.

'_When the Water Witch asked the Ice Prince what he wanted from her as a reward, the young man thought silently for a moment, before he simply smiled up at her and asked for the chance to win her heart. Surprised by his simple request, the woman returned his smile and held out her hand. The two began to dance, entwined in one another and moving in unison.' _

Gray and Juvia began an elaborate and well rehearsed dance around one another, the bluenette's Water Magic holding her in its grasp as she floated gracefully around Gray's skating, the two holding hands as they twirled and spun around the pedestal that was all that remained of the pillar in the center of the room.

It was beautiful to watch, Juvia's water freezing into stunning ice sculptures as Gray skated around her. Lucy had only been Ice Skating once when she was celebrating her fifth birthday, but having fallen over several times and getting frustrated while older children glided around her with ease; she hadn't been again, but she respected the discipline that learning to dance on the ice took.

'_Slowly but surely, the two eventually began to fall in love. Eventually the lovers decided to leave the Icy Cave, the Water Witch gazing in wonder at the sight of the outside world for the first time in years, smiling at the kind hearted Prince who had freed her. And so, she turned to her brave saviour, resting a small hand on his cheek, leaned in to embrace him; excited for whatever adventures the two of them would find in their future together.'_

Lucy heard a sniffle to her left and she gazed over at her shorter friend. She didn't know whether to laugh or offer her friend a tissue as Levy wiped a few stray tears from her face as Gray and Juvia held each other tightly as the ring slowly went black around them, ending the performance.

A rapturous round of applause erupted from the audience and Lucy and Levy stood up, along with dozens of other audience members in various stages of tears, blubbering and appreciation; clapping and cheering riotously.

The icy chill that had encapsulated the room for the last fifteen minutes was suddenly lifted and the standing audience took their seats again as the lights began to flash between a vivid array of colours as three new performers took to the stage.

Lucy smiled excitedly as Mira, Lisanna and Elfman walked through the curtains next to them and the two women clapped and whistled to their friends.

They were wearing matching outfits, Elfman in a royal green pair of trousers with a black shirt, Mira and Lisanna in similar dresses of green and black with opposing slits in the sides of them. Mira shot Lucy and Levy a wink and a smile as the three siblings entered the ring, which was now transformed from an icy cave into a lush green rainforest. Lucy found herself flabbergasted from watching Mira lifting her arms to transform the space around them.

Thick and dense foliage covered the floor, walls and ceiling of the Fairy Tail tent, sunlight streaming through gaps in the jungle canopy, animal noises could be heard from all around them and Lucy was sure the temperature had increased a good twenty degrees. It was a strange sight to see the opulent tent disappear and be replaced with exotic foliage and flowers of the like Lucy had never lain eyes upon before. She even felt the grass, foliage and leaves tickling her feet as she wiggled her toes. It was incredibly realistic.

Mira was certainly an expert at her Transformation Magic, and Lucy was eager to see if the beautiful white haired woman's equally attractive siblings were as virtuoso with their own magic. Lisanna was an Animal Transformation Mage, while Elfman specialised in turning into beasts from legend.

'_Ladies and Gentlemen and children of all ages, please welcome to the stage the Strauss Siblings! Prepare to be amazed and enthralled as they dazzle you with their incredible transformations of animals, beasts and wondrous places!'_

Lucy felt her eyes widen as Lisanna stepped forwards, her body seemed to shimmer as if a mirage as a beautiful white tiger suddenly appeared and opened it's large mouth to roar dramatically into the crowd; several people gasped in fright and Lucy heard several children in the audience cheering happily. The tiger began to pace menacingly around the outside of the ring and growled at several people, looking ever so slightly out of place in the jungle setting; seeming to belong more in a frozen forest rather than a dense rainforest. Suddenly Mira raised her arms and the jungle began to merge into a rocky mountain, the sky was pitch black with violent lightning clouds and a fierce wind whipped peoples hair back and forth as it swirled stormily. A flash of bright lightening thundered across the sky and Lucy watched as Lisanna turned back into a human, pausing to wave to a few of the kids in the audience. The crowd gasped again as she turned herself into a snowy white monkey, a rumble of laughter travelled through the audience as the little capuchin jumped across several laps, stole a pair of spectacles and ran off with them, before a human Lisanna jumped out from behind the victim and she handed the lady her glasses back with a friendly smile.

The young woman seemed to hold no ill will to the little monkeys tricks and she clapped enthusiastically.

This time it was Elfman that stepped forwards, he flexed his arms and his body began to transform into a large humanoid type beast with leathery dark green skin, fangs and claws on the end of his large fingertips. He too coaxed gasps and looks of awe from the audience as he played for the crowd, snarling at random people and flexing his biceps. With a dramatic growl, Elfman briefly turned human again before he turned into a strange looking beast with the head and front legs of a lion, body of a goat and the tail of a snake.

A Chimera, Lucy had so far read over the first ten letters of the Alphabetical list of Magical Creatures in the book she had borrowed from Makarov's private library, however seeing such a strange looking beast in person, rather than an ink diagram in a book; was quite a sight to behold.

Lucy gasped as the Chimera Elfman opened it's mouth to let out a roar of fire into the air before he turned back into a human again briefly. The towering beast of a man then transformed into a large but beautiful mythological Griffin, the hind quarters of a lion, but the front form of an eagle.

Lisanna then turned herself into a pure white eagle and the two siblings began to soar around the ring, diving and swooping around the crowd, several obviously planned near misses causing a few shrieks of surprise; including a giggle as Lucy felt the soft brush of a feathered wing tickle her golden hair.

Mira then smiled and transformed the mountain scenery back into the ring once again, but this time with a very large hole in the floor, Lucy and Levy gasped as they looked down at the dark blue waters of Lake Scilliora as the white eagle swooped down through the hole in the floor and into the waters of the lake. There was a moment of complete silence as Mira, and a now human Elfman jumped towards the hole.

Instead of plunging into the icy waters however, a huge white whale suddenly jumped from the lake with a splash of water, Lisanna catching her siblings expertly on the very tip of the mouth and the three of them sunk through the hole with a smile and a wave; the huge gap in the floor magically reappearing as they disappeared.

Lucy had found herself gasping, cheering and clapping along with the rest of the crowd, even though she was now well aware of the secret world of magic, the enthusiasm and atmosphere of the crowd was infectious as they were dazzled with impossible tricks and performances.

She could now see why her beloved mother used to tell her about fond memories of bright lights, cheering crowds and wondrous performances, this was in her blood; Fairy Tail was her home.

However knowing just who was up next on the list to perform, the blonde was quickly brought out of her musing as the lights once again dimmed.

'_Now my friends, let us turn up the temperature to boiling point as we introduce the Fiery Salamander, master of flame, a force usually seen as destructive, but in his hands it becomes a powerful and exciting display of strength! Raised by a fierce Fire Dragon, this rambunctious young man is as untamed and unruly as the very flames he wields!'_

"Which is the Master's diplomatic way of saying Natsu is a reckless, disobedient and destructive goofball." Levy giggled to a grinning Lucy.

"Yeah tell me about it, my cranky old landlady is getting fed up of repairing my apartment. So far he's set fire to two pairs of curtains, broken four windows as he can't seem to use a door and I've spent three times as much as I usually do on groceries because of his bottomless stomach!" Lucy groaned unhappily.

"It must be a dragon thing, Gajeel was also raised by a dragon and he eats like a pig." Levy giggled as she patted her blonde friend on the back sympathetically.

Their conversation about the men in their lives was swiftly interrupted as the air in the room became hazy.

Lucy could feel the sheen of sweat forming on her body as the temperature of the room began to increase exponentially, she watched as several people began to fan themselves with their tickets or their bare hands as the lights turned to a mixture of yellow and orange; most likely that colour to increase the effect of Natsu's flames.

She then felt her insides squirming in excitement and heat as the familiar form of Natsu Dragneel appeared in the center of the stage in a great flash of fire. Flames licked at his hands and feet as his amber eyes moved through the crowd, before the heat of his eyes settled on her. She smiled slowly, and with a swipe of her tongue on her dry lips, let her eyes rove over his body.

His hair was its normally spiky mess, but was fluttering in the heat rising from his fists, Natsu was topless (much to her pleasure, and several other tittering women around the room, Lucy noted with a jealous huff) and her eyes trailed over his abs to the orange sash wrapped around a pair of dark red baggy pants that ended at his calves. White bandages were wrapped around his wrists.

The audience watched on baited breath for the Fire Mage to begin.

There was no piano melody or dramatic music to his performance, only the beating of a low drum, Lucy found her heartbeat synching in time with the beating of the musical instrument, captivated by his glorious body moving through a series of powerful and calculated movements, watching as though she was a moth drawn to a flame (quite literally), as he did a quick backflip; powered by a burst of flames from his bandaged feet and he then moved straight into an aerial kick. His leg kicked out a circle of fire towards the audience, which swiftly disappeared before it could come too close to them. It was as though she was watching an old fashioned martial arts demonstration, his dedication and practice in his years of training showed in his confident and powerful strikes. The fact that he was wielding flames as though they were an extension of his body made for a simple but effective performance.

Natsu didn't need dramatic staging, fancy music or an elaborate story; his magic was captivating enough to thrill and excite the entire audience.

The pinkette then raised his head into the sky as he let loose a roar of blinding flames into the sky.

She was unaware of the proud smile that had settled on her face as she watched her best friend, but Natsu was well aware of Lucy's gaze as he smiled gently and paused for a moment to catch his unsteady breath. The stunning blond easily stood out from the crowd of people encircling the arena, her golden tresses glittering under the yellow light from above; her lithe body and ample chest, much to his pleasure, was shown off in a simple but breath-taking white summer dress that did strange things to his imagination.

Lucy then felt her own breath hitch as the heat of his eyes settled on her own dazed pools of brown, she began to feel strange as a blanket of heat seemed to travel over her body, it felt as though his hands were travelling invisibly across her thighs and she found herself blushing not only from the phantom heat, but her own traitorous thoughts as he grinned toothily at her.

She bit her lip to still the groan that was threatening to leave her parched throat as his amber eyes left hers. Lucy had all but forgotten that Natsu was due to battle Gajeel as the sudden presence of an intruder to the stage brought her back to her senses.

"That's Gajeel." Levy whispered excitedly in Lucy's ear as the blonde tried to get her brain back from the pleasant puddle of goo it was currently dissolving into to get a good look at Levy's boyfriend.

To say the man looked nothing short of terrifying was a vast understatement. Long and unruly black hair travelled down to his mid back, multiple piercings adorned his face and body, red eyes were narrowed in challenge at a waiting Natsu, who had settled into a defensive stance, ready to meet the Iron Dragon's attack. Gajeel quickly cast his eyes to the side to gaze at his smiling girlfriend, who blushed as he smirked just for her.

Lucy was vaguely intrigued, not only wanting to know just how a tiny, adorable girl such as Levy had come to find herself attracted to such a fierce looking man, but also why he was called the 'Iron Dragon'. Lucy privately noted that he had a sculpted body to rival Natsu, his height towered over the Fire Mage, Gajeel was good looking in a sort of brooding and scary way, the two combatants looked to be pretty evenly matched in power. Of course this battle was just for show, to entertain their audience; but Lucy had a feeling these two men were regular sparing partners when Natsu was looking for a real challenge in his workouts.

The crowd began to cheer and yell words of encouragement as the two 'opponents' suddenly shot towards each other, an uppercut from Gajeel sending Natsu into a backflip and a growl from the Fire Mage. He then retaliated with a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking Gajeel to the floor. Several more blows were traded between the two men and Lucy found herself turning to Levy excitedly, a bark of laughter leaving her as she saw her bluenette friend holding a pair of opera glasses held up to her eyes, pointed very obviously in the direction of her roughish boyfriend as he smirked at his opponent and flexed his muscles.

"Enjoying the view?" Lucy giggled at the Script Mage, who pulled the glasses away from her face with a grin.

"Very much, wanna borrow them?" Levy teased, causing Lucy to blush furiously. The blonde was half tempted to take Levy up on her offer, but she didn't have the guts to gawp at Natsu so openly through the fancy binoculars.

He would tease her for weeks!

"Think I'll pass...who do you think is gonna win?" Lucy willed her red cheeks to disappear as Lucy briefly flickered her eyes back to the fight to watch Gajeel go flying backwards against the stone slab. The blonde winced briefly as the taller man got to his feet, that punch from Natsu had to have hurt!

"Anyone's guess, they normally spar until they collapse from exhaustion or Master puts an end to it." Levy smiled. "Once Natsu accidentally set the Mayor's Wife's hair on fire so we had to close early and apologise in person, of course it was forgotten about the next morning!"

Lucy found herself giggling in sympathy, but also intrigued about the fact normal folk forgot all about Fairy Tail the next morning. The titbit of information about Fairy Tail had been bugging her for weeks, so, she decided to ask the distracted Script Mage about it.

"I've been meaning to ask, just how does Master make a town of seventy thousand people forget about Fairy Tail?"

"It's not the Master who does that, we have a Mage called Mest Gryder who uses Memory Magic, he is the one who uses his powers to make the town forget. Hes one of the four top Mages in Fairy Tail, he is also a member of the Magic Council."

"Ah, I see."

Lucy turned back to watch the battle and soon found herself enthralled again as Natsu suddenly lit his entire body on fire, she would have felt sorry for Gajeel; if the black haired man didn't retaliate by turning his entire body into metal.

The Celestial Mage couldn't help but gawk at the two of them.

"Gajeel is an Iron Mage." Levy whispered. "And yes, his entire body turns to iron." Levy added, giggling at Lucy's red cheeks as she spluttered indignantly.

Well, that certainly explained the stage name 'Iron Dragon', but Lucy really didn't want to know that _everything_ on his body turned to Iron!

Her traitorous mind briefly wondered if the same thing happened to Natsu, and she covered her eyes and groaned as a highly amused Levy caught on to her train of thought and chuckled.

"Good thoughts, Lu?" Levy tittered.

The two fighters then began a blisteringly fast display of traded punches, kicks and flips, their captivated audience struggling to keep up as they dashed around the ring. Bursts of flame, the clang of metal and snarls of challenge were soon brought to an untimely end as the urgent voice of Master Makarov boomed out into the ring, obviously wanting to hurry on with proceedings after another ten minutes of fighting; neither of the two mages seeming to want to back down, or stop anytime soon.

'_Alas it seems our Salamander and Iron Dragon are evenly matched! A thrilling battle to say the least. Coming up next is the mind boggling Card Gypsy! Be enthralled as her dancing cards dazzle and amaze you!'_

The lights were dimmed quickly as a grumbling pair of Mages were all but dragged off stage by someone in the darkness, Levy and Lucy giggling as they heard the two men arguing with one another about who had won as they went backstage; several groans of the audience also disagreed at the fight ending.

Lucy felt a rough but warm finger bopping her nose in the darkness and a familiar rough chuckle from Natsu and she squeaked in surprise, Levy also seemed to have been poked by her mischievous boyfriend as Lucy heard her huffing indignantly.

"Guess Natsu isn't the only sore loser in Fairy Tail..." Lucy tittered to Levy.

"Nope, I swear those two are a pair of five year olds throwing a tantrum sometimes, Lily agrees with me!" Levy giggled.

"Lily?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Gajeel has a talking black Jaguar called Pantherlily, he sometimes hangs around the cafe eating Kiwi fruit." Levy explained. "He acts tough but scratch him behind his left ear and he rolls over and purrs like a kitten!"

"Of course he doe-"

Lucy was swiftly interrupted by the lights flashing on again, this time, Fairy Tail's resident alcoholic stood on stage, dressed in a revealing outfit complete with a top hat.

The Card Mage was known around Fairy Tail to turn card tricks and swindle Macao and Wakaba out of their hard earned Jewel after a few too many drinks, or coaxing unwitting patrons of Fairy Tail into having their fortunes read (Cana had a habit of going into explicit sexual details that left her victims very red in the face) so it was quite intriguing to see just what tricks the overly friendly brunette (who also had a habit of grabbing Lucy's breasts at random intervals) had up her hat.

Cana was dressed in high heels, knee length black trousers, a purple bikini top and a cropped jacket with no sleeves, an elaborately decorated purple top hat complete with large black feathers finished the look. The Card Mage, Lucy had learned rather quickly; had a flair for the dramatic.

The blonde had also learned rather quickly that Cana was rarely sober, regularly drinking an entire bottle of wine with each meal, and without a meal.

The pretty brunette winked at the audience as she opened one of her hands and tossed several large cards towards several male members of the crowd. With a sudden snap of her fingers, the surprised men were all magically transported within the cards, a few of them comically tapping against the edge of their flat prison as though looking for a way out.

Cana then twisted her hand dramatically and the four cards returned to the stage and swirled around her several times, no doubt making the men captured within extremely dizzy. With another snap of her fingers, the cards disappeared, the female companions of the missing men were looking at the buxom brunette warily, except one older woman who looked extremely happy that her husband had seemingly vanished into thin air and was clapping enthusiastically.

Lucy giggled quietly at the older woman before turning back ready for the brunettes next trick.

With a swish of both of her bracelet clad wrists, a stream of cards fanned out of her hands and formed a circle around her, each row travelling in the opposite direction as she strutted confidently around the stage, with another snap of her fingertips; eight of the cards magically enhanced in size, four of them blanks, four showing the men trapped within.

The audience laughed as the men were hunched over and holding their stomachs, looking extremely queasy from being flung around the stage in mid-air.

The enthusiastically clapping older woman who was thoroughly enjoying her husbands misery jovially shouted from the audience with an explanation as to her cheerful mood.

"Spin him again, that cranky old bastard forgot our wedding anniversary!"

There was a collective boo from the female members of the audience and Cana winked at the middle aged woman, making sure to give the older man a few extra twirls as the cards hovered around her.

While it seemed the previous three performances were serious in their effect at amazing the crowd, it seemed Cana only wanted to make her captive audience laugh with her antics.

It was with a swift twirl, that Lucy found very impressive in high heels, that Cana suddenly disappeared in a flurry of her cards; the stream making their way backstage before three of the four men magically appeared back in their seats, looking thoroughly discombobulated from their unwitting participation in Cana's card tricks.

The older gentleman however, did not reappear; much to the confusion of several members of the audience.

,_And for our exciting finale, Fairy Tail is proud to introduce our beautiful but deadly Titania!'_

Lucy found herself gasping in amazement as what she first thought was an armour clad angel descended from the ceiling of Fairy Tail.

Erza Scarlet, it seemed, had hair as long and as red as her surname suggested; extremely beautiful, but looking as every inch as deadly as Makarov had foretold. Dressed in a fitted silver breastplate that seemed to be formed from metal feathers, sharp silver guards adorned her shoulders, a beautiful white skirt reached her ankles, covered partly by a series of feather shaped armour around her waist. Large and pure white wings spread out from her back and matching feathers were set into her long red hair. Her body was toned and sculpted with muscle, her chest rivalling Lucy's. Bands of metal wound like ribbons down her upper arms, silver gauntlets encased her forearms and hands. There was a metal choker around her neck to complete her outfit.

"Erza uses a spatial magic called 'Requip', she is able to change between dozens of forms of armour, swords and other weapons to help her in battle. She's usually the go to Mage that Master sends on the most difficult missions for the Magic Council, monster exterminations, taking out Dark Wizards and the like." Levy whispered to an awed Lucy.

"I can certainly see why she's so terrifying, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." Lucy gulped, half in fear and half in respect.

Several men and women within the audience seemed quite taken with the most powerful woman in Fairy Tail, and it was certainly clear to see why. With one look from her fierce brown eyes it was clear to see that this woman, even though she seemed not that much older than Lucy, was a force to be reckoned with.

The fabled Titania eventually settled her armour clad boots on the stone slab in the center of Fairy Tail, her eyes closing gently as she raised her arms into the air, summoning dozens of winged silver swords with purple jewels set into the hilts.

The audience 'oohed' and 'aahed' in amazement as a flurry of sharp swords dashed towards the female warrior and she dodged, flipped and avoided them expertly in mid-air. Lucy herself gasped as one particular blade narrowly avoided taking a slice out of her long red hair, missing the strands by mere inches as it sailed passed her ear. With a dramatic flap of her white wings, Erza spun back into the air with practiced ease; her body suddenly taking on a golden hue that vaguely reminded the Celestial Mage of her own golden light, as the Requip Mage transformed into another outfit, her blades disappearing.

This outfit was even prettier than the last, a long sleeveless purple floral kimono draped her body, two thigh high slits to either side of a purple sash that draped between her legs showed a pair of pink thigh high stockings over simple sandals, a pink obi belt holding it closed around her waist; showing off her chest and toned arms. The outfit was in stark contrast to the long halberd she was wielding in her right hand.

The blade looked as sharp and deadly as it appeared as she lifted the polearm into the air and began to twirl it over her head, with a swift show of force, Erza then held the end of the staff with one hand at arms length, the blade slicing the air just meters away from the crowds faces as she spun gracefully in a circle. Lucy felt the air from such a movement hitting her in the face and she quickly brought a hand up to her face to check that she hadn't been sliced.

With a final golden transformation, the redhead then jumped high into the air, this time donned in a high ponytail, simple white bandages covering her chest; red baggy pants sitting on her lower body with flames around the hem, her calves wrapped in bandages similar to the way Natsu styled his. Two long Katana sat in each hand as she spun in mid-air, becoming a lethal spinning top that would slice anyone who got to close into tiny pieces.

With a final flourish of her twin blades, Erza Scarlet landed gracefully back on her feet, her simple skill with her swords proving to be an exciting and awe inspiring finale to the evenings proceedings.

A simple bow and a small smile was all that thanked the audience as the redhead turned and left the stage, the crowd of happy and cheering patrons rising to their feet with a riotous round of applause.

'_Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Fairy Tail Flying Circus and our performers we humbly thank you for joining us on this fair evening to allow us to showcase our many talents for your viewing pleasure. Please have a safe journey home and we shall see you once again next month for our next performance! Good night, Magnolia!'_

Lucy's hands were beginning to hurt from clapping so enthusiastically, she was about to follow the chattering crowd as they slowly trickled out of the now open tent and into the evening air but Levy shook her head and pulled her back into her seat.

"We stay seated, besides don't you and Natsu have plans?" Levy grinned suggestively.

Lucy blushed, completely forgetting that Natsu had told her that he had a surprise for her after the show tonight.

"I might be more excited if I knew what that goofball has planned for us..." Lucy laughed nervously. "I've half a mind to think he's planned another combat lesson!"

"Oi, don't be like that, Luce." Natsu's voice spoke to their right, causing Lucy to squeak in surprise.

The blond quickly turned towards the sound of her best friends voice and she felt her cheeks redden traitorously at his choice of attire for the evening.

The pinkette was dressed in his normal white baggy pants, with a black one sleeved overcoat covering his torso that had an orange trim to the edge of the fabric, the right arm was bare; proudly showing off a muscular arm adorned with his red Fairy Tail symbol, his signature scarf and a pair of black sandals completing the handsome look.

"Well I'm off to find Gajeel, you kids have fun on your date!" Levy grinned and bounced away, ignoring the huff of protest from an embarrassed Lucy.

"It's not a date!"

The Celestial Mage then turned to apologise to a silent Natsu, who for some reason was frowning at her with his arms folded across his chest.

"What?" Lucy asked her pouting best friend as he blushed adorably.

"Well...my plan was actually to take you out on a date. But if you don't wanna go –"

"No! I-I mean...of course I'd love to go." Lucy blushed and smiled up at a surprised Fire Mage, who looked stunned for a moment before he too returned a happy smile.

With a sudden squeak, she was pulled into the pinkettes arms and a pair of warm lips were pressed languidly against hers. Pulling away far too soon, Natsu smiled at her pout and wrapped his strong arms around her waist; fingertips teasing her lower back.

"Awesome! Where do ya wanna go? My treat, I don't care what it costs." Natsu asked. Lucy was flattered that he was open to anything, but she really wasn't the type of girl who enjoyed being wined and dined in expensive restaurants like any of her previous dates had insisted on doing. She told Natsu as such.

"You don't need to spend a ton of jewel to impress me Natsu. Just as long as we are together I don't mind what we do." Lucy grinned cheekily. "As long as it doesn't involve destroying anything or getting us kicked out of somewhere..."

"Aye Sir!"

And with a happy giggle, Lucy was dragged enthusiastically through the ring and into the evening air, Natsu grinning toothily at her as they went.

However, as her mind replayed the nights performances, the blonde vaguely wondered just what Cana had done with the forgetful old man that had mistakenly forgotten his wedding anniversary...

* * *

**Well thats this chapter finished, see you soon for chapter seven where our young lovers finally go on an official date! (And a few other things...)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello there! Sorry it's been nearly two weeks since my last update...but with all thats going on at the moment my mind has been somewhat preoccupied. I wasn't expecting this chapter to be another long one, but I had so many ideas that I wanted to get them in. It made me laugh that a few reviews wondered what Cana had done with the old man and I'm glad you enjoyed the show. So here is chapter seven, the M rating from here on out will start to show as our two find it even harder to resist each other...hehe**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Food, Fairies and...Fornicating?**

The warm, late summer air was pleasant around Magnolia this time of the year.

Days grew longer with glorious sunshine well spent basking in the cool waters around the shores of the lake, picnics in the park and festivals of all size and shape playing live music; exotic delicacies from far off continents offered by food vendors to curious passers by. Strange fashions peddled for jewel from as far away as Bosco and Alvarez, trinkets and treasures laid out in market stalls lining the central causeway behind Kardia Cathedral.

Nights grew shorter, the skies clear and an inky blue as a full white moon shone big and bright overhead. Bars and restaurants opened as soon as the sun went down, chairs and tables placed outside to enjoy the cooler evening air in attempt to lure in passing trade with delicious smells, lively chatter and jovial music. Street performers stood in prominent positions in the large square behind the grandiose monument, turning tricks in return for a few Jewel coin tossed graciously into collection baskets set out by the performers. Carnival games such as Ball Toss, Spin the Wheel and Go Fishing drew in the crowds with a well rehearsed pitch and the chance to win a colourful prize.

Lucy was want to be curious just what her best friend had in store for her on this warm night, adrenaline from tonight's show still pumping through her veins as she was pulled along the street by a warm hand.

A pair of excited amber eyes darted back and forth between the myriad of people, stalls and stores, seemingly honing in finally on a simple cart just slightly a little ways off the main thoroughfare of Kardia Square, nestled in between a pile of stacked boxes and a vendor selling glass ornaments from the neighbouring land of Bosco.

Lucy smiled as her handsome pink haired companion had seemingly been led to this rather ordinary looking wheeled cart entirely based on smell alone. It was a rickety looking thing, a grill set into one side of the cart, skewers of glazed meats and vegetables sitting freshly cooked and steaming enticingly to the right of the grill. A giggle left the blondes throat as she heard Natsu's bottomless stomach growling with gusto as he turned his eager grin on his best friend.

The charming little old lady stood behind the grill had a kind smile, tightly combed silver hair pulled into a low bun and a pair of thick frames perched low on her nose. Laughter lines showed around her eyes and mouth and she was dressed in a simple blue dress and yellow apron; she seemed quite impressed to find a young, fit and handsome male showing interest in her wares, if her mischievous waggling grey eyebrows at Lucy in approval of her date for this evening was any indication. The Mage found herself blushing but gave the older woman an equally cheeky smile.

Natsu of course saw nothing of the exchange between the two females, he was too busy drooling over the food, of course.

"Luce, look at this! You wanna try some with me, don't you?" Natsu was bouncing between his feet with all the enthusiasm of a child and Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at his adorable behaviour.

"Freshly cooked pork and summer vegetables with my secret extra spicy honey glaze." The old lady spoke warmly. "It's normally five skewers for one hundred jewel but for a strapping young man like yourself and his pretty girlfriend you can have one on the house!"

"O-Oh! We...we aren't a couple, we're just two friends on a date." Lucy corrected, giggling nervously as Natsu whooped in joy and thanked the kind woman, taking a skewer from the display and holding it out to his best friend.

"Oh! Forgive me for my mistake, you look adorable together." Tittered the woman, causing Lucy to blush once again.

"You first!" Natsu grinned toothily at the beautiful blonde, his eyes softening at her rosy cheeks. He waited until she leaned in and opened her mouth to bite a piece of tender looking pork and a chargrilled pepper from the end of the skewer, before the pinkette opened his mouth wide to bite off the other half of the stick.

Lucy moaned happily as she chewed, a delicious flavour of smoky pork, honey and red pepper enveloped her taste buds and she brought a hand to her mouth in surprise. There was a hint of spice to the aftertaste, perhaps Paprika or Red Chillies? Whatever it was it was spicy enough to cause a light sheen of perspiration to coat her cheeks as she savoured the small mouthful before swallowing.

"Oh wow, that was amazing!" Lucy complimented, ignoring Natsu as he burped happily next to her, showing no sign of being bothered by the spicy snack. "A little too spicy for my tastes but you're a very talented chef!"

"Thank you dear, glad you enjoyed it. I'm quite impressed you handled my recipe, I use the spiciest red chillies all the way from Alvarez in my secret sauce." Chuckled the woman to Natsu. "It's a damn struggle to get them imported but well worth the hassle!"

"There isn't a spicy food on Earthland that Natsu can't handle!" Lucy nudged her best friend with her elbow and he grinned bashfully, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"Would you like some to go, young man?"

"We'll take the lot." The Fire Mage suddenly piped up, his stomach growling eagerly as he grinned at the shocked woman. Lucy felt her mouth drop open as the old woman suddenly let out a bark of laughter and reached below the counter to grab a large paper bag and start loading thirty or so skewers of spicy pork into it, as though his request wasn't a strange one at all.

"It's wonderful to see a young lad with such a voracious appetite, that will be 500 Jewel please."

Lucy smiled they were told a very cheap price that she had a sneaking suspicion was a hefty discount, however Natsu reached into the pocket of his baggy white trousers and handed the woman much more than the total asked with a warm smile. For all his mischief, rambunctious and destructive behaviour, he too had his sweet moments; Lucy thought with a flutter of butterflies in her chest.

"I couldn't possibly –" The woman stammered with her hands raised in protest.

"Take it, we pretty much cleared you out." Natsu chuckled softly, taking the full paper bag from the grateful woman.

"Thank you, you kiddo's have a wonderful evening now."

With waves of goodbye, Natsu secured the bag in the crook of his left arm, immediately grasping Lucy's hand in his right. The two best friends strolled off slowly, the pinkette was so distracted by the assorted smells, sights and sounds of Kardia Square that he didn't notice the beautiful blond worrying her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment; until she stopped to press her free hand to his upper arm and stood on her tiptoes to press a open mouthed kiss to his warm cheek, the tip of her nose brushing his bottom lashes as he turned his head to look at her.

Lucy pulled away from his face to smile as he blushed and blinked bashfully down at her.

"W-What was that for?"

"Kindness deserves a reward, Natsu." Lucy whispered, smiling sweetly as she brushed her nose against his cheek. His insides looped in a circle as his best friend teased him, he decided to get his own back by letting go of her hand to wind his now free hand around her waist to pull her in to his toned body, her squeak of surprise muffled as he dipped his head to press a languid kiss to her parted lips, her big brown eyes widened slightly before they fluttered closed soon after. The quiet moan that drifted up her throat sent a shiver through his body and he had to pull away as he felt the tell-tale stirring of desire in his loin.

It wouldn't be much of a date if the Fire Mage let his arousal take over and drag the blonde temptress into a dark alley and ravaged her, so with a moan of protest, Natsu pulled away reluctantly, smiling down at his flustered date and reaching to thread his fingertips through her idle hand again.

"Lets find you something to eat that won't blow your socks off." Natsu chuckled as he pulled Lucy along behind him, his thumb rubbing unconsciously against the soft skin of the back of her hand. "Anything in particular you fancy, Luce?"

'_Yeah, your lips against mine again.' _Lucy's mind answered traitorously, causing her cheeks to flame again as she tried to get her feet to work properly; too caught up in ogling his muscles flexing sinfully as he walked.

Damn, just how in the hell was this man allowed to be so sexy? Lucy might be able to relax and enjoy his company more if she didn't want to jump his bones every time he flexed those glorious abs or smiled those fanged canines of his at her mischievously. The gaggle of females giggling excitedly as he strode by weren't helping her situation either.

"S-Something sweet...maybe some chocolates."

"Whatever you want, Lucy."

Natsu turned his head to look down at her, secretly loving the way her brown eyes were glazed over and the way her ample chest heaved up at down as she panted softly. The pinkette was finding it hard to resist teasing her more, watching his beautiful best friend flustered and wanting as they moved through the street made his abs clench unconsciously as heat pooled within him. The thin straps of her white dress offered a tempting view of her toned arms and chest, sun freckles were dusted over her slightly tanned shoulders from time spent in the warm Magnolian summer. The modest dress would have looked ordinary on any other woman, but the shorter length gave a titillating view of her long and toned legs as she walked.

He had shot warning glares at several men ogling the stunning blonde as she walked by completely oblivious to the attention she naturally drew from passers by, his hand unconsciously squeezing hers as he tried not to let a growl escape his throat.

Maybe later on this evening he would allow himself to give in and pull her lithe body against him as he kissed her senseless, but for now Natsu simply wanted to enjoy their date.

Lucy suddenly tapped her best friend on the shoulder, bringing him out of his carnal thoughts as he turned to give her his full attention.

"There's a little booth over there selling sweets, wanna take a look?" Lucy pointed towards a brightly coloured stall to their right, standing out from the crowd with stripes of yellow and green fabric wrapped around a simple wooden framed market stall; Natsu wrinkled his nose slightly from the slightly off putting sickly sweet smell of sugar treats, he'd never really been much of a glutton for sweets, chocolates and cakes but he was happy to ignore the offending assault on his sensitive nose if Lucy wanted to take a look.

The gleeful blonde let go of his hand and rushed forwards to coo over the adorable assortment of mini cakes, jellies and shaped chocolates as the stallholder waved in greeting to the pair.

"Evening Miss, if you see anything you like please let me know." The young man smiled kindly and turned his attention away to deal with an elderly couple who were interested in some candied dates to the far end of the stall.

Natsu smiled as he watched the blonde cross her arms and tapped a finger against her lips as she tried to choose what she wanted, before he decided she might be here a while and he reached into his bag of spicy pork skewers and began to eat with gusto.

By the time that Lucy had spent several minutes making a mental list of which sweets she wanted, the stall attendant had bid the elderly couple farewell and returned to help the blonde.

"Have you made up your mind Miss?" asked the man.

"Can I get one of those chocolate caramel squares, two mini strawberry cakes and one of those, please?" Lucy asked excitedly, her mouth watering at the thought of the sweet treats.

Natsu had pretty much finished demolishing his paper bag of spicy pork when he turned his attention to his blonde best friend, who smiled up at him; not surprised in the least that his bottomless stomach had made quick work of a large bag of food.

"Be careful with the last treat, it packs a pretty big spice kick." The stall holder chuckled as he handed the striped bag to the eager woman.

"Oh, that isn't for me...its for him." Lucy tilted her head across to Natsu with a smile, he looked confused but he returned her smile with a toothy grin of his own.

"Ah, that makes more sense. Your total is seven hundred Jewel, please."

Natsu held out a hand as Lucy reached into her purse to grab a Jewel note, quickly handing the vendor his own money.

"You don't have to pay for everything, Natsu." Lucy blushed as the young man took the money and counted out the correct change for the pinkette. "At least let me pay for your sweet."

"I told you, tonight is my treat Luce." Natsu lifted a finger to boop her on the nose and chuckled as Lucy huffed and puffed her cheeks out adorably.

"Treating your special lady, eh?" The vendor grinned at Natsu as he handed him the change.

"Yup, whatever she wants." Natsu returned the grin as they bade their second stallholder of the evening their farewells and walked towards a large fountain that marked the entryway to Magnolia's park. Lucy sat down on the edge of the water, with her best friend joining her shortly after. Natsu was intrigued as to what Lucy had chosen for him, she was well aware that he didn't really have a sweet tooth so he was surprised when she opened her bag of treats to hand him a chocolate confection of some sort in the shape of a triangle. His nose was quick to pick up on a mix of spices however, the mixture confusing him.

"It's a chocolate shell filled with a spiced syrup, I know you hate sugary food but I thought you would enjoy this." Lucy smiled nervously at him as he took the triangle from her, quickly tossing it into his mouth before his elevated body heat melted chocolate all over his hands.

The dark chocolate immediately melted as soon as it entered his mouth, a smooth and spicy aftertaste coated his tongue and the heat slid down his throat as he swallowed. Lucy watched his throat bob up and down with a hitch of breath and she squirmed longingly in her seat.

"That was pretty damn good, wanna taste?" Natsu hummed in approval before he smirked down at the blonde and grasped her by the hips to pull her into his lap, one hand dropping the paper bag onto her lap as she squeaked in surprise. Natsu immediately dipped his head down to trail his tongue across her plump pink lips, smiling as she shuddered in bliss and opened her mouth to allow his spiced tongue entrance to the warmth beyond. A whimper left her throat as she tasted the mixture of spices on his scorching tongue as he rubbed his hand slowly up and down her side, bunching in the fabric of her waist. Lucy wound a shaking hand into the rosy spikes at the nape of his neck and her other smoothed over his right pectoral. Her eyes were about to shudder closed as he nipped at her bottom lip with his teeth and reluctantly pulled away from the heated kiss.

Natsu leaned in to rest his forehead against hers and smiled as a snooty middle aged couple walked by them on the way into the park, muttering to each other about indecent public displays of affection. Lucy chuckled breathily as Natsu stuck his tongue out childishly at the pair and they huffed off into the park in offense.

A comfortable silence passed between the young couple as she happily munched on her bag of treats, not minding when her pinkette companion shook his head in refusal to take a bite when she offered him a taste.

"So, you wanna keep shopping or you got somewhere else you wanna go?" Natsu asked softly as he wrapped his arms around his best friend as she sat sideways on his lap and he rested his chin on the top of her head. Lucy felt warm and secure in his strong arms and she tilted her head to the side to place a brief kiss against his jawline.

"I saw a book stall back in the square that looked interesting, why don't we grab another snack on the way?"

The book stall turned out to be a collection of leather bound tomes that Natsu was pretty sure were older than the first Master of Fairy Tail herself. He normally would have been bored out of his mind watching his book loving partner picking up dusty old book after dusty old book, but the cunning beauty had lured him there on the promise of food, he was happily eating a bag of several turnovers Lucy had sneakily paid for while he was drooling over the vast selection of pastries. The elderly gentleman who owned the book stall had a very impressive belly length white beard and tufts of hair sticking out of each large ear was shamelessly leering at the blondes chest as she leant over to pick up an extremely heavy book. The Fire Mage scowled threateningly at the man as he leered at her boobs once more, before Lucy shrieked and dropped the weighty tome that swiftly fell from her hands and back onto the table with a loud thump and immediately sent a cloud of dust scattering into Natsu's nose.

Lucy realised what was going to happen roughly two seconds after she saw his sensitive nose wrinkling, with a shout she tried to pull the pinkette away from the stall as his eyes began to crease. With a loud '_achoo!'_ the Celestial Mage watched in horror as a stream of flames shot out of his nose and thankfully missed the books, instead hitting the elderly gentleman in the center of his long beard; singing a large circular hole right in the center.

Natsu grinned evilly to himself as the old man quickly yelled in horror and surprise and he quickly tried to pat at the flames, not noticing when Lucy was suddenly dragged away at full speed with a squeal of surprise.

HA! Served the pervy old bastard right for leering at a woman old enough to be his granddaughter...he thought privately.

Several people in the crowd yelled obscenities at the pair as they bumped into passers by, but the disgruntled people were paid no mind by the Fire Mage.

Natsu began laughing as he pulled his horrified best friend through the winding back alleys of Magnolia, obviously knowing his way around as she ran behind him. She had a vague suspicion that the naturally destructive male was a regular escape artist from trouble here in the town.

It was when he came to a stone wall, that he stopped and released her, vaulting up the stonework and sitting on top. He grinned down at her and leaned over to offer Lucy a hand, impressed when she grasped his hand without question and climbed up the wall with ease.

"You've done this before?" Natsu had to ask, he hadn't met many women who could easily climb a solid stone wall twice their height.

Lucy giggled and swung her legs over the wall, before looking down into what was obviously someone's rather grand back garden. Panting softly from their full on sprint, her eyes lit up mischievously when she spotted a pool just off to the left behind a manicured hedgerow lined with flowers of all colours and varieties. A large townhouse stood behind the pool, the curtains closed and seemingly either the occupants were asleep or out for the evening.

"I was an expert at climbing over my old back fence by the time I was twelve. I used to cause a distraction for the hired help so I could sneak out of the house and wander around Crocus."

Natsu grinned as Lucy jumped down gracefully onto the soft grass below, looking up at the pinkette as he followed suit.

"Somehow that doesn't really surprise me...the princess brought up in a wealthy home loved nothing more than sneaking off and going on an adventure." Natsu chuckled warmly, imagining an adorable younger Lucy getting her pretty dress dirty and causing trouble for her grumpy old nanny.

"That was me! Of course my punishment would be extra homework or a lecture from Aquarius but she would always smirk when she thought I wasn't looking." Lucy giggled.

"So what shall we do now? We should probably avoid the square unless we wanna get arrested for arson."

Lucy was feeling a rare sense of bravado as she stood before her best friend. She wasn't sure what his reaction was going to be but since he had been getting her hot and flustered all evening with sensuous kisses, teasing brushes across her body and naughty looks; she wanted to get her own back.

"Let's go for a swim to cool off."

Natsu blinked as Lucy turned and sent him a cheeky wink, her hips swaying enticingly as he followed behind her as she made her way to the pool.

His stomach lurched and his amber eyes widened as he watched the teasing blonde woman reach for the zipper at the back of her white dress, slowly tugging on it to reveal the back of a pink lace strapless bra and a hint of the smooth curve of her back. He found his eyes zoning in on her slowly revealed skin as she shrugged her shoulders out of the spaghetti straps, his mouth ran dry as his arousal hit him full force as she let go of the front of the dress; the cotton fabric pooling at her feet, a pair of matching pink lace shorts sitting at her curvy hips. With a growl of desperation, he found himself striding forwards with purpose when she bent over to untie the straps of the tan sandals at her feet; giving him full view of her round and pert behind.

Lucy gasped as she felt the entire length of Natsu's body pressed against her back as she stood up and stepped out of her sandals and dress. She bit at her lip as his hot hands squeezed her waist, thumbs rubbing back and forth against her gooseflesh skin. The blonde moaned long and low as his sharp canines nipped at a sensitive spot on her neck.

Two could play at that game...

Lucy verbally protested as she felt his hands leave hers, before he walked around her and stood before her. Her cheeks were burning cherry red as he slowly untied the sash around his waist, his one armed overcoat falling open to reveal corded toned abs, the sculpted V of his contracting as he panted softly; his amber eyes were lidded with arousal as he looked at her, smirking when he heard a whimper leave her parted lips as he let his coat fall to the floor.

While she was thoroughly enjoying his impromptu strip show that was entirely just for her, her bravado wavered slightly as it toed the line into dangerous territory. His strong hands were unbuttoning his trousers, knowing exactly how to get her easily flustered as he tugged the zipper down; the audible gasp of breath from the aroused blonde was hard to ignore as he let his favourite white pants drop to the floor.

Oh sweet heaven, Lucy found herself short of breath as she let her glazed eyes wander unashamedly over the slightly loose fitting black boxer shorts he had been hiding under those pants, powerful thighs that she wanted wrapped around her stood proud as she let her gaze travel north. The loose fitting cotton only offered a teasing glint of his semi hard length and her feet unconsciously walked towards him as her eyes lifted to meet his own.

With a feral growl Natsu dipped his head to capture her parted lips in a fierce kiss, his rough hands immediately resting on either side of her flushed cheeks; tilting her head up to press her deeper into his lips. Lucy eagerly let her quivering hands wander across the plane of his abs, nails raking against sculpted muscle that twitched under her touch; her lips opened to run her small pink tongue against his chapped lips, smiling into the kiss as his lips parted and his own hot muscle darted out to massage hers languidly.

Natsu let out a rattling breath through his nose and wound his right hand around her bare waist, his left boldly lowering from caressing her cheek to squeeze her ample breast in his grip; her soft mound spilled over his grip before he threaded a hand into the thick of her hair and tilted his head to draw her in further. Lucy pulled away briefly to let in a gulp of fresh air before she went dizzy, her kiss addled mind forgetting to breathe in through her nose as their lips danced.

Dipping his hands to squeeze at her ass, Natsu hissed and left her swollen lips to suckle harshly at her throat; lifting her up into his arms and coaxing her to wrap her lithe legs around his narrow hips. The thoroughly needy blonde gasped as their hips fit snuggly together, her calves locking together around his back as he lowered them to the grassy floor of the garden. His strong body settled over her as he gazed down at her, amber eyes taking in the messy golden hair that fanned out around her head like a halo, her swollen red lips parted temptingly as her breath left her in shallow pants; dazed brown pools of chocolate lustful and looking up at him with a complete look of trust.

"W-What happened to swimming?" Natsu whispered huskily down at her, his hands resting either side of her head as he attempted to catch his breath.

Lucy gulped, her legs squeezing around his waist, a moan leaving her throat as she felt his hardened arousal poking at her right thigh; her hips grinding up into his own which drew a guttural groan from his throat.

"I-I want y-you." Lucy whimpered nervously. "Please, Natsu."

He hesitated at the look of trepidation in her hazy eyes, the sudden thought of what she was implying brought the realisation that they were half undressed and in someone else's back yard; they could be caught at any moment by the home owners, and as much as the Fire Mage was want to continue their exploring, he'd much rather they do this in private.

"I've wanted you from the minute you stumbled into the cafe, Luce. But I need to ask you are you sure that you're ready for that?" Natsu was blushing as he thought of the two of them taking things between them further, as much as he wanted to tear the rest of their clothes off in the soft grass and show her exactly what he daydreamed about doing to her; Lucy was looking a little lost.

"W'What do you mean?" Lucy whispered.

"Are you absolutely sure you wanna have sex with me, Lucy? Have you ever slept with another man before?" Natsu asked boldly, his words caused her face to turn beetroot but there was no other way around asking if his best friend had previous sexual experience. If she had, he wouldn't judge her; Lucy was a beautiful woman with an equally stunning body, anyone would be lucky to have the chance to make love to her. If she hadn't been with another, which he suspected from her nervousness; he flatly refused to pressure her into laying with him, as much as he was aroused by the stunning weirdo he was proud to call his best friend, he wanted her to know she had every right to take this at her own pace.

"I-I've not gone all the way, but I have gone further than this with an old boyfriend a few years ago. I'm not scared of having sex with you, Natsu...I'm just nervous you'll be disappointed with me." Lucy confessed quietly, her teeth bit at her bottom lip for a few seconds as she built up the courage to ask him about his own experience.

"Trust me, I couldn't be disappointed with you if I tried, Luce. You're sassy, a complete weirdo and easily the prettiest girl on the planet." Lucy giggled at his compliment.

"H-Have you –"

"Just once, I was a curious teenager. I met this girl in a bar after a tough job taking out some bandits in Onibas...had a few Fire Whiskeys and she waltzed over and introduced herself. Couldn't remember much but we danced and kissed a bit when she asked if I wanted to go back to her place for a nightcap. I was seventeen and not fully aware what she meant but she started undressing me and things escalated from there...it felt pretty good." Natsu admitted with rosy cheeks. "I've had a couple dates since then that Mira set me up on, heck I even dated Lisanna for a bit...but we both felt weird after a few dates as we had grown up together like siblings. I've never met anyone that's made me feel so wanted, except you. That's why I wanna savour this."

Lucy blushed sweetly as he grinned bashfully at her, before he dropped down to press a sweet but heated kiss against her lips. Natsu pulled back with a cheeky grin and sat back on his knees, pulling her up with him.

"You won't think less of me if I ask us to wait until I'm completely ready?" Lucy tilted her head at him as the two got to their feet, Natsu reached over to brush a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"Absolutely not, I'm ready when you are...if you wanna experiment first then no problem. "

Lucy felt her heart flutter and she raised her hands to wind her fingertips around the back of his neck to tease his rosy spikes at the nape.

"Trust me, it's damn hard not to want to jump on you when you insist on walking round during training without a top on...I'm excited to see what you have to offer, Natsu." Lucy whispered against his parted lips boldly, relishing in the hitch of his breath her words coaxed from him. Natsu leaned in to rub his nose gently against hers, before he pulled away to start dressing again.

"Feeling is entirely mutual, Luce."

It was several moments later that the pair had dressed fully and climbed back over the wall and into the deserted alleyway, Natsu briefly turned to press a quick kiss to his partners lips before he took her hand and led her quickly back through the streets. Lucy wondered just what her rambunctious Fire Mage had planned next on their date tonight, she soon found herself deciding that she was just happy to spend time with him.

"Anything else you wanna do before the night is over? You don't have a time you wanna be back home do you?" Natsu seemed to read her mind as the two of them found themselves strolling slowly towards the edge of Magnolia, Lucy was slightly confused about where they were heading to but she was happy to follow his wandering, happy he was enjoying her company so much he didn't seem to want the evening to end. It had to be pushing midnight by now and the partying in town seemed to be slowly winding down.

"Nope, I'm perfectly happy just being here with you."

Fairy Tail had gone dark at some point while Natsu and Lucy had been...preoccupied...with each other in that garden, still floating magically over the lake, not too far away from where they stood on the edge of the forest that circled the right of the water. There however, was one new thing that Natsu noticed hadn't been there earlier...

On top of the flagpole, where the large flag bearing the symbol of Fairy Tail fluttered proudly in the light breeze, sat a little old man. He was wearing a gaudy looking fairy costume, bright pink and complete with a set of fluffy wings and a tiara; his arms were folded grumpily, but he looked to have dozed off some time ago. Lucy wouldn't have noticed if Natsu hadn't have pointed him out to her, but when he did, a peel of laughter left her throat.

"Guess we finally figured out what Cana did with the old geezer from the show."

Natsu chuckled and casually draped a muscled arm around his best friends shoulders, his fingertips rubbing against her skin. His other hand was resting in his right pocket as the two of them looked out over the water.

Lucy closed her eyes and leant her head on his chest, enjoying his body warmth despite the hot summer air around them.

"What ya thinking about, Luce?" Natsu whispered, turning his head to nuzzle his nose into her cheek, leaving a peck against her skin.

"I don't wanna go home, I want to stay with you."

Natsu looked down at her, lowering his hands to grasp her own, the two not quite yet lovers gazing softly at one another under the moonlight. Lucy watched a gentle smile light up his handsome face and she felt her insides looping happily at his next words.

"Then stay with me, mine and Happy's place isn't too far from here."

Lucy found herself nodding her head in excitement, eager to finally explore the place her best friend and his cheeky blue cat called home. The blonde had been tempted to follow him secretly after practice one afternoon, curious to know why he would make for the forest outside of town. Not wanting to abuse his trust by showing up unannounced, Lucy had figured it was best to wait until he was ready to invite her over.

For a week or so, Lucy had a rather amusing daydream about just what sort of abode the cheerful pinkette owned; ranging from a rickety wooden treehouse with a ladder to climb up, to a simple campsite complete with fire pit and a tarpaulin tent hung over a low hanging branch, she even briefly entertained the idea that Natsu lived in a cave as though he were a dragon from a story book, hoarding a vast wealth of glittering treasures and precious stones.

As she was lead through the forest, Lucy gasped as a building slowly came into view around a cluster of trees to their left. Natsu grinned at her and gestured towards his home with a dramatic flourish of his hands.

"Ta da!"

Her first guess was closest, it wasn't a rickety wooden hut built high in the treetops; but there was a large tree growing out of the hut in various places. It seemed to be made entirely by hand, out of either mud brick or stone; a cobbled brick chimney sat to the right of the hut, stretching from the stone foundations right up to the roof. The smooth plaster walls were a sunny yellow, a quaint porch was extended from the main building where Lucy found a welcoming arched front door, a circular window sat above it. There were several arched windows set into the building, the roof was made from orange tile and the rocky pathway towards the door was lined with wild flowers of bluebells, tulips and daisies. A simple wooden fence surrounded the home with a cat shaped signpost announcing that this charming little cottage belonged to 'Natsu and Happy'.

"I started building this place myself not long after I turned fourteen, Master figured it was safer for me to live outta town since I had a nasty habit of setting his curtains on fire every few weeks." Natsu grinned proudly, looking to his best friend for her opinion. His little cottage wasn't a fancy mansion, or a lavish palace; but it was his own space.

"It's wonderful." Lucy whispered breathily, feeling as though she were right in the pages of a magical adventure, happening upon a charming little cottage in the woods; but instead of a little old lady living in it, there was a handsome Mage welcoming her inside.

The look on her best friends face at her praise was more than worth it, as he took her hand and pulled her along the path towards the front door.

"Happy is staying with Lily tonight so we have the place to ourselves. Come on I'll give you the tour!" Natsu couldn't contain his excitement as he pulled a rustic looking key that he also seemed to have crafted himself out of his pocket and unlocked the front door. "I used to leave this place unlocked all the time but I came home one morning from a job to find the place ransacked and some Jewel missing."

Lucy smiled in sympathy as he opened the arched wooden door and led her into his home. The Celestial Mage wasn't quite sure what to expect as she crossed through the threshold and into his home. There was a plush and colourful woollen circle rug beneath her feet, a triangle pattern bordering the edge. The hardwood floor ran the length of the singular room that housed a simple but quaint kitchen, not much cupboard space but Lucy knew he spent most of his time outdoors. There were a few bookcases lining the walls by the front door with trinkets and souvenirs from previous jobs. A comfortable looking orange couch sat underneath an arched window to her right, opposite a circular support post where a simple hammock was tied up several feet off the ground. A stand holding various large weights and dumbbells he obviously used to keep his muscled body in top shape sat along one wall. The walls were a similar yellow to the outside of the home and the final piece of furniture was a thick square coffee table, large cushions for people to sit and eat on underneath it. There was another arched door at the far end of the room which Lucy assumed was the bathroom.

"I'm impressed you boys keep this place vaguely tidy." Lucy chuckled, having a brief horrifying vision of a run down and ransacked mess of clothes, dirty pots and trash everywhere.

"Err...it's not normally this neat, Mira made me clean up before our date." Natsu blushed adorably while scratching the back of his head nervously. "Happy and I prefer you're place, but I wanted you to see where I call home when I'm not sneaking in through your window and raiding the fridge."

Lucy giggled breathily and turned to Natsu, lifting a hand to boop him on the nose.

"It's a good thing I don't mind so much, I'm glad my little flat feels like a second home." Lucy then yanked him down to her level by the front of his scaled scarf. "But if I find you boys going through my underwear drawer ever again I'll string you both up naked from the spire of Kardia Cathedral...do I make myself clear?"

Natsu swallowed loudly and his eyes widened at her demand.

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

After letting her slightly terrified best friend go, Natsu walked over to grab a blanket and some cushions from a basket perched by the door, before he lead the curious blonde back out of the cottage and around the back of the house; there was a wooden ladder leant against the back wall, nailed into a sturdy tree branch that jutted out from the eaves of the roof. Lucy was beckoned to follow him up the ladder and she giggled as he scampered quickly to the roof.

"Is it safe to be up here?" Lucy asked warily as she gave Natsu her hand, being pulled up easily to wobble to her feet on the pitched tiles.

"I'm up here in the mornings to meditate before Happy wakes up and starts causing trouble. The sun rises over the lake so I use it's energy to get me up and ready for the day."

Lucy smiled as Natsu unfolded the blanket and threw the cushions down along the top edge.

"So why come up here at night?" Lucy asked as Natsu pulled her to sit down on top of the blanket.

"Best place in town to see the stars." Natsu laid back, pointing up into the sky and tugging her down to lay against his warm body with a gentle smile.

Lucy let herself fall back against him, reaching across to pull his strong arms around her securely. Lucy felt her lips tug into a content smile as her brown eyes wandered across the inky blue above her, white dots twinkling brightly as she found several of the zodiac constellations. There was Aquarius, Taurus and Virgo. Her mind briefly drifted to her beloved mother and a single tear fell from her eyes and into her hairline.

Natsu noticed her sniffle and he turned his head towards her with a frown.

"You okay, Luce?"

Lucy wiped away the stray trail left along her cheek and turned her eyes to meet ones of concerned amber.

"Just wish my Mom was here to see this, it's beautiful. Thank you for bringing me up here."

Natsu softened his gaze and leaned in to press his lips gently against hers. Lucy sighed in bliss as his warm arms squeezed her in comfort.

"She's always with you Luce, don't forget that."

It was as they lay together, curled up in each others arms; that the two of them eventually drifted off into a comfortable sleep under a sky of twinkling stars.

* * *

**Well thats this latest installment over, stay turned for next week as we are intruduced to a few new characters! Toodles!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Holy smokes, can I first say how grateful and teary eyed your kind comments to my Authors Note left me? My job is extremely tough at times so thank you for understanding my situation during this current time. Work has slowed down for me somewhat at the moment, I guess taking on more staff has eased the work load for the rest of us. Any free time I have had has been spent between playing Final Fantasy VII remake (holy crap what a great game! I finished it last week if anyone else is playing it) and writing this monster chapter. I'm also returning to the FFVII fandom and currently have a Cloud/Tifa one shot in the works (for anyone who has read my old story Baiting the Beast a Vin/Yuffie fic from years ago) so hopefully I might see some of you there? This chapter sort of wrote itself and went off on an almost 10 thousand word smutty tangent in between getting in a few hints in to upcoming chapters. It is my personal thank you for being such amazing readers. I've also been reading some other Nalu fan fiction (among my many faves are Burnt Cookies, Back to You and Of Myths and Monsters) there is some serious talent in this fandom and I'm proud to be a part of it. Please enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Sky Dragon, Mating and...a Bull?**

The secluded town of Era was an unusual place to be quite frankly honest, especially to the locals.

Set in an idyllic location nestled high in the snowy mountains, with lush pine forests encircling the town; one would be forgiven at mistaking the lovely place to be a town well away from the world and the perfect paradise to live a simple but quiet life.

Starting twenty years ago as nothing more that a tiny outpost settlement with a small tavern and a cluster of workers cottages for those who mined the mountains, searching for rare ores and minerals to sell on for a profit; it had quite quickly grown into a sizable cash flow opportunity for the town when a sudden influx of travellers pooled in looking for a winter break away from the hot sunshine of the south coast of Fiore.

Inns, bars and small restaurants lined the streets, shops selling hand made wares, the locals friendly and welcoming to the newcomers.

And what strange visitor some of them were! There were mostly hikers and skiers looking to take on the icy white slopes, but a few times a month there would be an odd group of about a dozen or so dressed in old fashioned cloaks, some carrying odd looking canes, some speaking in a foreign tongue; hardly any of the strange travellers had much interaction with the locals. If they did it was a simple good morning or afternoon, a few asked for directions; one odd looking man had become the talk of the town when a group of children had seen him vanish into thin air!

The locals didn't really believe that one, but it was hard to deny that Era certainly held an air of mystery and intrigue. Tales of strange noises, bright lights in the sky and odd looking animals in the forests had plagued the residents for years; but, if anything, the locals had decided to just left well enough alone.

Perhaps they weren't privy to know.

Some, if not the vast majority of the local mysteries were centred around the towns most well known feature, as it was, the large rocky outcrop that rose from the very center of town wasn't exactly hard to miss. Having long had it been a popular destination for local kids to sneak off and cause mischief, a group of them had even rolled old tyres and carried wood up there to make a den of sorts; no grown-ups allowed!

Of course those kids had long gone and the mountain winds had eventually worn the rickety place to a few bare pieces of wood and some threadbare pieces of black rubber. The newly appointed mayor had eventually seen the potential in the flat land that rest at the peak of the outcrop and had commissioned a large and grandiose granite mansion to be placed at the top, to be used as the town council offices.

What the residents did not know however was that they weren't just any regular old council offices.

Era had been chosen as the new Fiore branch of the Magic Council, which of course did not exist to non magic folk. The location had been chosen due to the large deposit of Lacrima Crystal that had been discovered deep under the town, a crystal that to Mages; amplified their magic, and thus allow them to place a magical veil over the town.

The mayor was of course a member of the council, a Mage in his own right. Tasked with keeping up the appearance of normality within the town, making sure the locals didn't pry too much into business that they would not understand, or believe.

To his residents he was a kind and fair man, if a little reclusive. Nothing untoward was thought about him.

Primarily, the Council existed to keep order between Mage-kind and the like, in liaisons with a high security branch of the Fiore Government to keep magic away from being discovered. In return for their cooperation; magic was allowed to be practiced in secret.

Some Dark Mages however did not agree with this, and thus was the main topic of discussion within the Council at their monthly meeting.

Makarov Dreyar was well used to the journey through Era, as a tiny old man, he garnered much attention from the locals; but he always stopped to say hello to a few of the residents of the town who knew him vaguely as a regular visitor. By the time he had trekked up the spiral path leading up the mountain, through the golden gates and up the marble stone stairs of the mansion; he was several minutes late for his first meeting of the day.

"Did you both have a safe trip, my boy?" The elder Mage stood an entire three feet shorter than his robed companion, who had stepped out of a doorway to their right of the grand octagonal Atrium of the Council.

"If you call disposing of a heard of angry Imps hell bent on stealing our entire stock of food, safe, then yes...the trip was otherwise uneventful." The robed man chuckled in amusement.

"I trust in your skills...I doubt a few pint sized terrors got the better of you." Makarov raised a bushy eyebrow at his tall companion and the two strode off down a small corridor towards more private quarters.

"Oh it wasn't I who scared them off, the tornado which swept them away might have had something to do with it."

This piece of information made Master Makarov pause for a moment.

"The girl is already aware of her powers?"

"So it would seem."

"Do the council know?" Makarov asked quietly, glancing around to ensure they weren't overheard.

"Owing to my position on the Council, my little sister has been known to them for some time, I have entered an arrangement with them that she would be placed under guidance from an Elder Mage, as such until she reaches maturity and learns to control them."

"How old is the girl?"

"Barely twelve. I would take over her care myself were I not a full time member, which is why I contacted you those months ago Makarov."

"The last twelve year old I took under my wing had a tantrum and burned a hole through my roof when I told him most people didn't eat five portions of food for breakfast. Please tell me this one isn't a volatile overpowered toddler."

"How is Natsu, by the way?"

"He still wants to beat you to a bloody pulp, so he's well."

"Some things never change...compared to him my sister is a polite, well mannered little girl."

"I shall take your word for it." Makarov chuckled lightly.

"If you would accompany me to my office, we shall start the process of introductions."

* * *

There was a five second window in which Lucy could use her magic to her advantage, Aquarius was rearing her urn of water over her shoulder to charge her next attack, Taurus the golden bull had taken a hit from a golden beam of starlight and was catching his breath to her left; so she tightened her grip on 'Fleuve d'etoiles' and channelled her energy into it.

"Good try, brat! You won't be smiling so cockily when you look like a drowned rat..." Aquarius shouted from the other side of the ring, glaring haughtily at her charge; the hint of a proud smirk on her lips let the Celestial Mage know that the grumpy mermaid wasn't being serious.

On the other hand, training with her spirits every spare moment of the last week had certainly improved her reaction time and proficiency with her magic. Lucy had finally been successful in summoning Taurus three days ago, eager to introduce herself to a brand new Zodiac Spirit.

Despite finding him to be a complete and utter pervert, who spent most of his time ogling her body and making inappropriate remarks; Taurus was a powerful new ally and she was determined to make the most of the week she had to herself, without a certain gorgeous pink haired best friend distracting her at every available opportunity.

The fact that Lucy hadn't passed out when summoning her second spirit, despite the surprise of seeing a humanoid black and white bull with a giant axe standing before her in a pair of skin-tight pants; was a testament to her new found control of her magic, being able to keep both Zodiacs out for a full twenty minutes; and still being able to shoot a few golden energy beams here and there.

If the battle before her got too tough, Lucy had one new trick up her sleeve.

It was something that she had discovered quite by accident just a few days ago, while meditating. A sudden burst of golden light had shot from her body and before she knew it, her whip was glowing with a fizzle of gold and blue light; Lucy had been so surprised that she had lost concentration and fallen backwards, hitting her head on the stone slab of the ring and cutting off her magic.

The blond had gotten to her feet while rubbing at her sore head, thankful that no one had been around to witness her embarrassment.

Ever since, the Celestial Mage had been feeling a new presence trying to urge their master to call them forth. Lucy had learned that her spirits each had a different energy signature, as it were, Aquarius was a dominant presence who felt as terrifying as a hurricane. Taurus was a fixed presence, grounded and unmoving.

This new spirit, while eager to be summoned, if the sudden boost of energy to her whip was anything to go by; wasn't quite ready to reveal them self, it was confusing to say the least.

The Celestial Mage however had a strong suspicion this new Zodiac was Virgo.

Lucy had kept her promise to Levy, keeping everything that happened with her magic documented in a private journal she hid in a secret compartment in her desk, where she stored her letters written to her mother. Having poured over every bit of information that Levy had given her on the Celestial type of magic, Lucy was a little concerned that her powers weren't following a very linear path.

The Script Mage had mentioned that strong Celestial Mages often displayed signs of powers unknown to research...perhaps this was one of those signs? Not that she thought her powers were anything special, there were Mages far more powerful at Fairy Tail; compared to them Lucy felt like a little kid playing with a toy magic wand.

It was why she was so determined to practice, along with the fact that Natsu had hinted at taking her on her first job request from the Master when he returned home within the next few days.

No pressure then!

The sun had long gone down when Lucy had decided to call it a night, sore and aching all over from her training, meditating and more training. Half in a daze from feeling so sleepy, the Celestial Mage hadn't noticed a slender female figure peering out at her from behind the curtained doorway portal that led to Strauss Cafe, the bright red hair of its owner slightly dulled in the darkness.

Lucy was halfway towards the door when she felt her magic give a sudden pulse of energy, after day dreaming vividly of her simple but comfortable bed; her eyes drifted closed over golden irises and Erza Scarlet gasped as the form of the newest member of Fairy Tail suddenly vanished in a shower of pure white light.

How intriguing...

* * *

_ Watching in horror as the roof had caved in and fallen onto her frozen and shocked best friend as he just stood there helplessly was something Lucy never wanted to have to witness ever again._

_She couldn't help the anguished scream of terror that left her throat or the tears that poured down her cheeks as she, along with an equally shocked Erza and Gray; blindly rushed to the pinkettes aid and tore away at the broken fragments of wood as they battled to free their trapped comrade. _

_Lucy felt her heart thudding in terror at the thought of them possibly finding Natsu dead under the rubble. _

_Splinters and sharp nails tore into her shaking hands and legs as she kneeled on the hard ground, but she paid them no mind as the bloody and battered Natsu was eventually freed thanks to their efforts. Erza had immediately checked his pulse, tears of relief replacing tears of sadness as she loudly confirmed the presence of a pulse..._

Jerking awake with a sharp gasp, wide and tearful brown eyes opened to find her safely tucked up in her bed, her quilted pink comforter keeping her body warm and a strange weight against her feet. There was also a warm and strong arm draped over her stomach and, from only hours spent in his company, Lucy smiled when she realised just who it was snuggling up to her.

Just a bad dream...

The blond turned her head to smile at the snoozing form of her best friend, the toothy grin falling when she saw the bruises and bandages littering his handsome face.

Natsu had been away on a special job request from Master Makarov for the last week, having initially been determined to take Lucy along with him; the old man had simply shook his head and firmly told the angry Fire Mage that Lucy was not ready to take on such a dangerous job for her first time, placating Natsu's anger with a promise of a more suitable mission when he successfully returned. Lucy hadn't asked what the details were of such a dangerous sounding request, but judging by the state of her best friend; it had obviously been a tough one.

Lucy had left her window unlatched for the last few days, knowing he was due home soon; a blush graced her cheeks as she realised how close the two of them must have gotten lately to realise that she had called her little apartment his home too. So used to having the rambunctious Fire Mage and his cheeky blue cat in her tiny apartment, the past week without them had left an uneasy feeling of emptiness deep in her heart.

Her body was literally aching to touch him, now that Natsu was finally here. Memories of their wonderful date had been enough to quench her desire to feel his strong arms around her and his fiery lips dancing against hers, but nothing could stop her body from physically craving his touch over the last week.

The blond let out a heavy sigh and snuggled into his side, draping a leg across his and her left arm across his abdomen, closing her eyes to feel his toned stomach moving up and down as he breathed gently in his sleep. Her right hand pulled him closer so she could rest her face against the crook of his neck. A shuddering breath left her lips as she let her fingertips dance across his stomach lazily and without thought as her mind wandered randomly across her more private memories of the last few months.

"Wake up, Natsu." Lucy whispered harshly, her lips brushing across his neck gently; her inner voice berating her for letting her body heat up as she imagined his mouth on hers. "I missed you."

This wasn't the time or the place for such thoughts, Natsu was obviously injured and Happy was curled up snoozing at the end of the bed.

Lucy moaned softly as her traitorous fingertips danced over the waistband of his favourite white baggy pants, a blush rising to her cheeks as she felt the finely honed V of his abdomen disappear beneath his trousers; before her wandering hand moved back up to his chest to rest against his heart. The organ was beating fast and hard, much to her confusion.

Sleeping people's hearts didn't beat like that, they were supposed to be slow and steady.

With a gasp, Lucy suddenly found herself pulled into a pair of very familiar and strong arms, her eyes shot up to find a pair of sleepy and wide amber eyes staring directly into her own pools of chocolate brown.

He was awake...well, half awake!

"N-Natsu!" Lucy shrieked in alarm, her sudden movements causing a snoozing Happy to be accidentally booted onto the floor with an angry yowl, Natsu jumped up in shock and with his arms currently holding Lucy around the waist, he clumsily lost his balance on the edge of the bed; letting them crash to the floor in a tangle of blankets and pillows.

"Ow – f-fuck!" The Fire Mage grumbled sleepily. "At least wake me up normally...don't screech in my ear, weirdo!"

Natsu pulled one of Lucy's pillows from off of his face and glared down at the messy blond hair splayed out over the floor to the right of his chest, his glare turning into a grin as he heard Lucy giggling airily against his right bicep.

"Yeah and don't play football with the sleeping cat!" came Happy's angry voice from across the room.

"Sorry buddy!"

Natsu smiled as Lucy raised her dishevelled head of blond hair and smiled warmly at him, her eyes completely covered by her messy bangs. The Fire Mage couldn't help raising a hand to brush her soft golden hair away from her beautiful face and boop her on the nose cheekily.

"Mornin' Luce!"

"You're back." Lucy sighed in relief. "W-What happened to you? You're covered in bruises and bandages!"

Natsu raised an eyebrow briefly before he chuckled warmly, bringing up a bandaged hand to cup her cheek.

"Just a couple of thugs getting in a few cheap shots, nothing major. I'll be back to normal in no time." The pinkette whispered softly to ease the worried look on his favourite weirdo's beautiful face, he even leaned in to rub his nose against hers; grinning at the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

"If you two are gonna be all gross and lovey-dovey on me I'm outta here!"

Lucy squeaked adorably in embarrassment at Happy's words and tried to detangle herself from Natsu, just as the blue cat flew off out of the window; leaving the two of them very much alone, and still very much pressed against one another on her bedroom floor.

The blond suddenly found her body heating up uncontrollably and found herself biting her lip as a slightly confused Natsu blinked at her as she lay draped across his body. Her left leg hooked around his calf and squeezing his thigh; her left hand wandered up to the back of his neck where her fingertips played in his soft rosy spikes.

"L-Luce?" he whispered, before it turned into a huff of a moan when her knee drifted across his groin accidentally. His eyes darkened slightly as they continued to gaze at each other, Lucy bit her lip as a spark of electricity jolted through her as his adams apple bobbed; he let one of his hands trail across the small of her back, before his hand boldly ghosted over her round backside to squeeze gently.

"Y-You're really back." Lucy chuckled, turning into a desperate moan as his rough hands squeezed her ass roughly this time. Letting the feeling of want shudder over her body, Lucy lost his heated gaze as she lowered her head into the crook of his neck, daringly brushing her lips sensuously across the heated skin she found there.

"Can't keep me away, weirdo."

Her eyes closed in bliss as Natsu turned his head towards her and leant down to press a series of slow and tentative kisses across her collarbone, his warm breath hitched in his throat as she whined softly against his neck.

"Mhn, N-Natsu."

"D-Did you miss me...or _this_?" Natsu growled huskily into the sensitive lobe of her ear.

With a slight growl that made a shudder of delight travel down her spine, Lucy squeaked as her world was suddenly turned upside down as Natsu played on his strength to roll the two of them over.

"B-Both!" Lucy moaned breathily. "N-Not having you to ho- Hmn!"

Lucy soon found herself being pressed back into the white linen pillow as her best friend sat astride her hips, his eyes dark and lidded as he gazed down at her, he was panting harshly and Lucy found herself captured by his feral gaze. His hands were loose on his thighs as though he wasn't quite sure what to do with them, while hers grasped nervously at the comforter, which had become messy and wrinkled when the pinkette had shifted their position; the hard wood floor against her back was slightly uncomfortable, but she paid it no mind as she found herself thoroughly distracted.

The not unwelcome heat that naturally rolled off of his well honed body warmed her from the inside out and she noticed that neither of them really seemed to want to move. There seemed to be a stalemate between the two best friends as they remained unsure about what was going to happen next, so Lucy found herself grateful that Natsu seemed to decide to make the first move.

"L-Luce?" His shaky voice repeated again quietly. "Tell me."

"W-What?"

So as he stared down at her flushed cheeks, pink lips parted as she panted softly and her generous chest heaving up and down with her shortness of breath; her top was crumpled slightly where her belly button was on show and her long blond hair was splayed around her like a halo, but she was looking up at him with such trust he couldn't help the goofy smile and half lidded gaze that sat on his face.

"Tell me what you missed."

"N-Natsu..." Lucy began breathily. "I missed everything...that goofy grin of yours, the way you hold me...t-the way you kiss me languidly when we're alone."

Mavis, did he absolutely adore this woman.

"_Fuck_..."

And that single word caused him to groan longingly and he leant over her to capture her parted lips in a fierce kiss, his right hand squeezing her curvy waist and his left travelling up to sink into her golden tresses. His lips left hers after a few seconds, he moaned when he felt Lucy crossing her arms around the back of his neck to pull him back down to her lips again impatiently. This time he tilted his head and his eyes drifted closed to savour the softness and feel of her against him, Lucy whimpered against him when he nudged open her bottom lip and teasingly trailed his tongue along the plump flesh; delighting in the shiver that travelled through him as her own tongue slid languidly against his.

She moaned longingly when his hips rucked against hers urgently, the friction starting the pooling of heat in her core. Shuddering in delight when his hot tongue massaged hers, Lucy couldn't help her wandering hands as they slowly slid down his sculpted torso to play with the button on his white pants.

Suddenly Natsu pulled away, his breath rattling in his chest as he stared down at her for a moment; silently questioning the beautiful blonde as she gazed up at him, cheeks rosy and her hair mussed adorably from their actions.

"L-Luce?" He whispered, her moan of longing as his own wandering fingertips delved slowly underneath her thin camisole to test her reactions causing his length to harden against her supple thigh. He couldn't help the way his cheeks flushed red when she grinded her covered core against him. "I missed you too but you sure about this?"

"Y-Yes, Natsu."

With a growl, Lucy bit at her bottom lip and tilted her head back against the pillow as her camisole was pushed up her stomach and a pair of warm lips teased around her belly button.

The Celestial Mage moaned long and low as she felt his tongue darting out of his mouth to trace a direct path up her toned stomach, the heat from his hands squeezing her hips a welcome addition to his mouth.

Natsu couldn't help himself as he watched this beautiful woman responding so eagerly to his ministrations, hissing in desire as his tongue reached the curve of her bare breast under her top. With a quick and desperate movement, Lucy bit at her lip again as her hazy brown eyes met pools of liquid amber as her top was lifted up over her heaving breasts; her arms lifting quickly to allow for its removal from her body and to be flung unceremoniously somewhere into her room. She couldn't help the redness that shone on her cheeks as Natsu gazed down at her reverently, boldly licking his lips as his eyes roved over her naked torso.

Her ample chest was covered by her small hands for a moment as she gathered her courage, biting her kiss swollen lip as she slowly lowered her hands; revealing perfect pink areola. Natsu couldn't help the growl of pleasure that left him as he lowered himself to press a lingering kiss to one pebbled nipple.

Her wanton moan left him feeling breathless as he darted out his tongue to mischievously flick across the same nub, rutting his hips into hers again; this time his semi hard length ground against her core when she opened her legs to fit their hips more intimately against each other.

"Hmn..." Lucy whimpered, streaks of electricity shooting to her core as he teased her, her body jolting in shock as she felt his fingertips brushing over her other nipple. She could feel him grin against her breast before his lips peppered over her soft skin to stop at her throat.

"Gotta say I enjoy you writhing under me like this, Luce." Natsu purred huskily against her ear, before panting hotly against her lobe as he worked his hips against her own languidly. Lucy couldn't help the way she bucked her hips up into his, biting at her lips as her head pushed back into the pillow; her hands rising to grasp and squeeze at her own breasts as Natsu sat back and watched her with a feral gaze, his eyes widening at her boldly touching herself.

"F-Fuck, you don't know what you do to me!" Natsu groaned as the scent of her arousal hit him like a sucker punch as he drew in a rattling breath as Lucy met his gaze with a mischievous one of her own as she stopped squeezing her breasts to trail her fingertips across her stomach to tease the skin above her shorts.

"T-Tell me-e." Lucy gasped boldly, feeling a surge of confidence in the way he was watching her tease herself so freely; darkened amber eyes blown wide with desperate arousal.

With a hiss, Natsu pressed his torso against hers, moaning low in his throat as he felt her hardened nubs brushing against his own. His tongue worked a nonsensical pattern up her neck towards her earlobe, taking the soft skin into his mouth and biting on it gently with fanged teeth.

"Seeing your amazing body in those skin tight workout gear you wear gets me all worked up...makes me wanna drag you off into the back room again to bend you over that shitty couch and –" Natsu hissed boldly into her ear before he was cut off by a guttural groan at the feel of her back arching against him, her jaw going slack and her nails clawing at his bare shoulder blades.

Momentarily distracted by his hips moving so forcefully against her that her breasts were swaying so violently against their movements, not wasting a second before his hot lips enclosed over her right one; tongue poking between his lips to lap at the hardened nub, earning a high pitched whine from the beautiful blonde in response.

Natsu loved to hear her so vocal to his ministrations, it made him want to tease her and prolong her pleasure until she begged him desperately for more.

So he did tease her just a little harder.

Lucy let out a loud keening cry as she felt rough fingers rubbing desperately against her free breast, fingertips pinching at the tip roughly tugging back and forth, another hand sneaking down in between their rutting hips to palm her core.

"N-Na – yes!" Lucy keened desperately, her hips jolting up into his warm and rough hand; there was a foreign feeling building within her, tightening with every rut of their hips and the feeling of his hand at her most intimate place.

"Fuck...Luce – c-can I?" Natsu growled dangerously at her ear, biting down with a fanged tooth on her lobe; the aroused pink flush that had taken over his beautiful best friend causing him to ground his aching arousal into her thigh.

The half distracted nod of her head wasn't enough of a confirmation to allow him to continue so Natsu immediately removed his hands from her breast and core, earning him a frustrated whine and a glare as he lifted his hands to cup her rosy cheeks.

Lucy settled the heat of her glazed eyes on his amber pools, panting softly up at him as he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose.

"Luce, listen to me..."

"Don't s-stop." Lucy actually growled at him, and it was absolutely adorable.

"Are you threatening me?" Natsu grinned, raising an eyebrow at his gorgeously flushed and aroused best friend.

"If you don't take care of me then I'll do it myself." Lucy threatened boldly, a teasing grin lifting her lips as a wide eyed Natsu let his jaw drop open as he realised just what her words implied; the old lady in her mind was blowing a gasket at the dirtiness of her words, but being like this with Natsu awoke some sort of seductive demon within her that was easy to get addicted to.

"S-Shit...well if you put it like that."

Lucy was suddenly lifted from the ground with a surprised shriek and a peel of naughty laughter as Natsu began to tickle her stomach mercilessly, dropping her unceremoniously on the bed as he stood before her.

"Bad Luce...filling my mind with all sorts of naughty images." Natsu grumbled half heartedly, his evil grin as he crawled towards her on the bed causing her to bite her lip in anticipation.

Just what was he planning on doing to her? Well...her dirty mind had the basic idea of what was coming next. Then her internal thoughts mused traitorously on that should be 'who' not 'what' and she suddenly flushed in embarrassment.

It was as though Lucy had only just realised that the two of them were suddenly half naked, on her bed and about to do much more.

Seeming to understand her internal wanderings, Natsu smiled down at her gently, before he lowered his lips to press a lingering kiss to her forehead as a means of comfort.

"Luce, don't be nervous...I'm not exactly a pro here either."

"S-Sorry, I'm not really n-nervous...just I've been in this situation before and I didn't really enjoy it." Lucy admitted.

She had told Natsu about her previous experience with a past boyfriend, but what she hadn't told him was that he had only been focussed on his own pleasure; leaving the blond flustered and disappointed. Lucy had decided not to give herself fully to her ex-boyfriend, and, because of it; the asshole had dumped her just before her eighteenth birthday.

"Hey...that's not gonna happen with me." Natsu whispered gently, pressing a series of short pecks to her forehead, cheeks and then a lingering kiss to her lips that left her knees feeling like jelly. "I'm not gonna be happy until you're writhing under me in pleasure."

Lucy felt the tension between them rising up again after it had slightly abated from their conversation, her head tilted back in longing at his husky promise and when he pressed his hands against her thighs to allow him to settle intimately against her once again; the hardness of his still firm arousal ground teasingly against her heated core.

"Y-You said you didn't really remember your first time doing this, so it kinda feels like the first." Lucy smiled blissfully up at him, her heart warming as he looked down at her in revelation.

"Yeah...that makes it feel more...special with you." Natsu grinned toothily.

"Exactly, so put those strong hands of yours to good use and finish what you started, Natsu." The way she purred his name into his ear left him feeling mischievous, so he settled the weight of his body on her thighs and darted his right hand down to her sleep shorts; his left slightly higher on her toned stomach, teasing light circles around her belly button.

Lucy whined in protest as his right hand rewarded her with the same treatment as his left, teasing slow circles across her center; using the thin shorts of hers to add a little stimulation to his ministrations.

"What I started?" Natsu flickered heated eyes back up to her face as she rolled her head back into the comforter, hips rucking up into his to try and grind against his core. He suddenly hissed as her head turned to the side and she bit down on one of her fingers, moaning longingly into her hand as her right hand dipped down to grasp firmly at his erection through his boxer shorts.

"You were s-saying?" Lucy teased in between her soft panting, her thumb rubbing against the head of him in a similar circular motion; delighting in the way his hips ground into her thigh unconsciously in response.

"P-Point taken..."

Lucy let go of her finger from between her teeth and her hands grasped at the hem of his boxers, tugging down on them and causing him to growl; he suddenly moved his legs to settle back on his knees, spreading apart her creamy thighs to run his hands across her hips. The blond writhed against him as he hooked his fingertips into the hem of her sleep shorts, tugging down on them desperately; her bottom lifting off the bed to allow Natsu to all but yank them from her body. Seeing her mostly naked beautiful body clad only in a pair of light blue lacy shorts would have floored him if he weren't kneeling on her bed. Lucy was panting softly beneath him, messy golden hair from their earlier activities spread around her like a halo that brought back memories of their moments in that garden; her breasts were heaving and her peaks were darkened from his attention. Finally his gaze drifted to the small patch of moisture that had collected at the center of her core, calling his senses to return to his teasing and make the most of her obvious want for him there.

"Fuck you're gorgeous Luce." Natsu murmured reverently, as though he was in the company of some heavenly goddess before him.

The breathy chuckle that left her kiss swollen lips made him smile toothily and he felt his rattling breath hitch as she took a hold of his larger hand and guided his fingertips over the dampness at her lace shorts. A sudden wave of arousal hit him full force as a new and sweet scent that belonged to Lucy drifted into his sensitive nose, his amber eyes zoned in on his prey and with a shriek of pleasure from the beautiful blond; he tugged aside her underwear and dipped his fingertips into her pink folds.

The feeling of her hot and wet for him underneath his fingers caused him to hiss in the back of his throat, his length starting to feel tight and uncomfortable within the confines of his boxers. His feral gaze flickered between watching the Celestial Mage moaning throatily underneath him, her head tilted back into the covers as her back arched in pleasure as his thumb rubbed against the nub between her folds, his middle fingers dipping teasingly into her entrance.

"N-Natsu, please!" Lucy gasped loudly, her hips grinding against his palm. "More!"

The Fire Mage grinned lazily down at the pleading blond, before he leant over and wrapped his lips around her left areola, flicking his hot tongue back and forth as he thrust his fingers into her core; the shrill keen sent a shudder through him that made him want to rip off her flimsy underwear and taste her arousal coating his tongue.

Lucy was in a daze, a blissfully aroused daze as she felt herself clamping down on his slowly thrusting fingers; her cloudy brown eyes looking up at him as he left her peak to press a heated kiss to her swollen lips. She wound a hand into the thick of his pink spikes to tug fiercely on his hair, causing him to groan into her mouth; tongue parting her swollen lips to slide languidly against her own.

Natsu grunted in surprise when he felt one of Lucy's hands slip into the back of his boxer shorts to squeeze his ass, her lithe legs wrapping tightly around his narrow hips to press his arousal closer to her core.

"F-Fuck...Luce stop or I'm gonna –" Natsu could feel the spring tightening within him, the pressure beginning to increase quickly as the friction of his hand stuck between thrusting into her core and rubbing against his arousal was causing him to rapidly loose control.

This however only seemed to spur the wanton and needy blond as she removed the cheeky hand at his backside and dipped her hand into his boxers to wrap around the base of his length; drawing a long and drawn out whine from the back of Natsu's throat. He all but collapsed against her and panted into her ear as he sped up his fingers within her, earning him in return a few experimental tugs of her hand.

"L-Luce..._Holy shit_!"

Lucy let her eyes drift shut as the ends of her toes began to curl into the side of the bed, her body was tensing over and over, a strange fuzziness was beginning to wash over her body as the force of his thrusting fingers reached a new tempo within her; Natsu was biting at her neck and the slight hint of pain against her throat was enough to send them both off the edge of the world and into complete oblivion.

"Na-" Lucy started to wail a strangled version of his name into the room, before she went silent.

Natsu felt Lucy suddenly tense against him, her insides clamping down tightly around his fingers as her back arched off the bed with a loud guttural moan straight from the back of her throat. He found his inner dragon growling possessively in delight as she shuddered uncontrollably beneath him, his own release hitting him full force only a few seconds after. His length twitched several times in her small hand before his release shot a long burst of warmth into her hand and his teeth marked her pink neck.

Lucy was in a world of weightlessness and pure numbness as she felt her body reacting to her first orgasm, it was completely different than she had expected it to be and at the same time so much more. The feeling of electricity had shot out from her core and fizzled throughout her body, making her boneless right down to her fingers and toes; she must look like a panting and sweaty dishevelled mess, but she really didn't care.

Not only had Natsu brought her to completion, from the way he had all but collapsed against her and was breathing heavily against a sore spot on her neck; she had brought him right over the edge with her. The feeling of his release was slightly sticky against her hand, but she just wiped it away on the edge of her sheets (they would have to be washed anyways, so adding to the mess of their shared release didn't really bother her so much) and she let out a satisfied and satiated little giggle into his sweaty pink locks. The sheen of perspiration from their activities suddenly turned cold against her naked skin so she wrapped her arms around a boneless Natsu and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

The Fire Mage had all but dozed off on top of his beautiful best friend, happy and relaxed; he felt her warm lips brushing his cheek and her shaky arms wrapping round him.

"Holy shit...if that's what it feels like before sex I can't wait to feel what it's like to be inside you." Natsu sighed cheekily, earning himself a thwack on the side of the head for ruining the sweet cuddling opportunity between them. "Oi!"

"Keep talking like that and I'll shove you out into Strawberry Street butt ass naked." Lucy grumbled half heartedly, quickly turning into a giggle as Natsu blew a wet raspberry against the side of her neck. His eyes widened on the large purple bruise at the base of her neck with fanged teeth marks stood in the center...at least he hadn't drawn blood.

Man Lucy was gonna kill him when she caught sight of that shiner!

So instead he peppered kisses lightly along her throat and dragged a boneless and sleepy best friend into his arms and off the bed.

"Now where are we going?" Lucy protested with a whine but nuzzled her face into his neck and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

"Bathroom...as much as I'd rather doze off with you in my arms after what we just did, we have to be at the Cafe in an hour, Master said he was calling an important meeting for Fairy Tail today. Figured you want a bath first."

Natsu grinned at her unhappy sigh at having to leave her flat, but she made an adorable coo of delight at the thought of sharing a warm bath with her new lover. As he pulled back the curtain to her bathroom, she clung onto him like a rash as he turned on the water and emptied a handsome dollop of her favourite bubble bath into the stream from the taps.

"Won't the others notice we both smell the same?" Lucy leaned back in his arms to look down at him with rosy cheeks. "I don't fancy getting teased by Levy and Gajeel about what we've been up to."

"Meh...I don't care what they think...besides I've already marked you as mine so-" Lucy tilted her head in confusion as Natsu suddenly went wide eyed and grimaced uneasily at her.

"Marked me? What do you mean?" Lucy blinked at him for a moment before something dawned on her. "Would it have anything to do with the sore spot on my neck from where you bit me?"

Natsu gulped and nodded, preparing himself to receive a half naked 'Lucy Kick' to the side of his face as the silent blond turned to look in the mirror above her bathroom sink. Her eyes widened and her lips dropped open comically that normally would have caused him to burst out laughing at her.

"What does marking me mean, exactly?" she asked him quietly, bringing a fingertip to the bruised purple skin at her neck.

Slightly confused at her not yet beating him up for leaving a massive hickey on a very visible place on her body, he frowned up at her.

"It's an old Draconian tradition, the ancient Dragons marked their mates with a permanent bite mark on the body; it's sort of like a promise to their chosen one, after courting for a bit they would symbolise their bond to one another through a mark. It's not a marriage proposal or anything like that! Just means you belong to me, y'know...to other suitors." Natsu explained, still confused as to Lucy's strange reaction.

"Is it permanent?" She asked him, removing her gaze from her mirror and looking down at him.

"No...that doesn't happen until we fully mate. If you don't accept becoming mine then we just let the mark disappear. But...if you do...then."

"I was yours from the moment you gave me that cheeky grin in Strauss Cafe, bonehead."

Natsu blinked several times before a wide grin crossed Lucy's pretty pink lips, she leaned in to press a languid kiss against his open mouth and ran her nails against the nape of his neck.

"Seriously? You're being weirdly okay with me leaving a massive purple bruise on your neck."

Lucy giggled sensually against his lips, sending his hormones into overdrive again and causing his length to harden slightly. Damn this woman and her feminine whiles!

"I kind of like it, keeping it hidden but only the two of us know about it...like a naughty secret y'know?"

Natsu felt his mouth gaping open as she nimbly unwound her legs from his hips and used her toes to work his boxer shorts down his legs. He felt his cheeks flaming up as the cold air hit his naked body, boxers pooling at his ankles and Lucy looking down at his semi hard length almost standing at full attention.

"Ha! Figures you're the one who gets embarrassed about being naked in front of a girl..." Lucy teased while grinding her hips into his, he got his own back of course by the sudden evil grin, the flash of heat at her hips and the sudden charred remains of her lace underwear fluttering to the floor next to his boxers.

"Natsu!" Lucy blushed beetroot, her bravado suddenly vanishing; much to Natsu's delight.

"You were saying?" His fanged grin sent a wave of arousal shivering through her body and she whimpered against his lips as he pressed a slow and building kiss to her bottom lip.

"At this rate we're never gonna get to the meeting..." Natsu promised darkly as Lucy writhed against his rough hands squeezing her toned ass.

* * *

"Dare I ask where Natsu and Lucy have gotten to?" Makarov sighed, his fingertips massaging his temple as he shook his head.

Several members of his audience were snickering and a few turned to an annoyed blue cat who was curled up next to Lily in the window; the black cat currently in his smaller form instead of the normal form of a Black Jaguar.

"Did Flame Brain finally get the stick out of his ass and make a move on Lucy?"

Almost every member of Fairy Tail had made it to the meeting, hell, even Gildarts had found the time to visit in between top tier missions to be here! It must have been very important for Fairy Tail's resident destructive goofball and the beautiful blond Celestial Mage to not show up on time...that or the two were otherwise entirely preoccupied...

"Natsu made a move on Lucy weeks ago, you know that!" Cana, Fairy Tails resident alcohol tester piped up cheerily.

"Can we please focus! The Master has obviously something very important to tell us!" Erza Scarlet snapped from one of the far tables. The excited chatter suddenly stilled and several of the members looked terrified of the woman. "It is nobodies business who Natsu decides to...fornicate...with."

"Thank you my –"

It was then that the tinkle of the doorbell sounded out through the cafe in the silence, a hundred pair of eyes, Mage and animal alike met a pair of embarrassed feminine brown eyes; and the shit eating grin on the faces of the two missing members of Fairy Tail.

"Glad you two could finally join us." Makarov raised a bushy eyebrow at the two latecomers and waited for them to find a place to sit, a challenging endeavour when the cafe was full to capacity and several members had to sit on the floor. He himself had resorted to sitting on the countertop of the bar to make himself heard.

"Er sorry, we were...busy." Natsu waved a hand distractedly and pulled Lucy towards the window seat, picking up a protesting Happy and sitting the blue cat on the top of his newly dried pink spikes. Lucy squeaked as Natsu pulled her down to sit in his lap and he threaded his fingertips through hers, wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

The more eagle eyed members of the Circus had noticed that the familiar scaled scarf that Natsu was rarely without was sitting around the pretty blonds' neck. Levy was quick to send a sly smile to her own dragon when she heard Happy asking Natsu why he smelled like Lucy.

"Looks like someone has snared her own Dragon." Gajeel chuckled at his mates observation and pressed a kiss to her neck.

"Some Dragons are easier to catch than others."

"Don't I know it..." Levy grinned darkly.

"Right! Is everyone comfortable? Good." Master Makarov pitched his voice over his distracted crowd to bring in their attention. "I have two important topics to discuss with you today."

Natsu frowned at the concerned tone in the old man's voice, never in his eight years of knowing Makarov had he seen the man so tense.

"As many of you are aware, I recently returned from the bi-monthly meeting with the Magic Council. I was made aware of a Dark Guild that has recently grown in size and numbers called Eisenwald. This Guild specialises in assassinations and the Council believe they were the group responsible for the death of three of the previous Wizard Saints. We believe they are based in Oshibana and since Fairy Tail is the closest group of Mages with members strong enough to take them on, I have been tasked with assigning a group of our strongest available Mages to pay them a visit and get some answers. The Council believe their leader has gotten his hands on a dark artefact and is planning a mass attack in the near future. As of now I have assigned Erza as team leader...if you would please choose a handful of Mages to join you on this mission." Makarov explained.

"Yes Master, Natsu and Gray...would you accompany me? Gildarts and Laxus are currently in the middle of important missions and I could use your help."

"Sure, why not?" Nodded the Ice Mage.

"Yosh! Finally a chance to kick some bad guy ass!"

Lucy giggled at Natsu's outburst and looked across to find Erza staring straight at her with a contemplative look on her face. The two women had been briefly introduced over the last week and Lucy looked up to the woman as a sort of role model and an older sister figure.

"You'll be coming along too, Lucy."

The surprised Celestial Mage felt her mouth drop open at the redheads words and she shook her head in protest.

"I'm nowhere near strong enough to join you three on a mission...I-I can barely keep one of my spirits out for more than a few minutes!" Lucy felt a little guilty telling a little white lie to her family, but she was still feeling uneasy with which the rate her powers were increasing lately.

Erza raised an eyebrow and folded her arms sternly.

"How strange...forgive my ignorance at your magic but perhaps I imagined watching you training last evening with a blue mermaid and a perverted golden bull...shooting golden beams of light and using that whip as a lasso of golden light?"

Lucy squeaked at being caught when she felt Natsu gasping in her ear.

"Since when can you call two spirits?!" Natsu barked at her, slightly offended at not being told any of this.

"Um...since four days ago?" Lucy blushed guiltily.

"Well...holy shit!" Natsu grinned proudly, causing Lucy to squeak in embarrassment when he dropped a kiss to her cheek; earning the young lovers several catcalls and coos from Fairy Tail.

"Judging from her notebook, Lucy is doing allot more than summoning two spirits...I believe she is close to calling a third anytime now. And I believe she opened her own transportation gate last night." Levy piped up guiltily from the corner. "That's extremely rare for a Celestial Mage."

"Levy! How do you know that?!" Lucy had had her suspicions about just how exactly she had instantly gotten halfway across town in her sleep and collapsed into her bed. How she had changed into her nightclothes was another mystery...oh gosh she hoped one of her Spirits hadn't changed her...she would never live it down!

"I might have charmed the notebook I gave you to write about your magic to have a twin...whatever you write shows up in the identical book I have in Makarov's library."

"You can do that?" Lucy was slightly annoyed that her best female friend had done that without telling her, but having a separate account of events for the Master's records would no doubt be of help to future generations of Celestial Mages; especially since there were so few books about their magic in the first place.

Levy nodded.

"That's pretty handy...at least we don't have to keep swapping notes!" Lucy giggled.

Levy smiled warmly at her bluenette friend and turned back to Erza.

"While I don't appreciate you snooping on my training, if the strongest female Mage in Fairy Tail thinks I'm strong enough for such an important mission then I'll be honoured to tag along."

Erza nodded in agreement and the Master smiled approvingly.

"This might be one of Fairy Tail's strongest teams...you will have a few days to prepare your supplies." Makarov spoke firmly. "Natsu...Gray, you will be on your best behaviour do I make myself clear...I'm sending you on behalf of the Magic Council and I refuse to accept any more claims over destroyed buildings!"

"You and Gray destroyed a building?" Lucy hissed in Natsu's ear.

"Five homes, two statues and an entire forest." Erza listed off on her fingers.

Natsu blushed slightly as Lucy joined in with the chorus of laughter around the Cafe.

"What was the other topic you wanted to discuss?" Erza spoke loudly over the noise and immediately commanded the attention of the room. Lucy privately noted that the older female would make a good Master someday...hopefully not too soon though...she was fond of old Master Makarov, even if he got a bit handsy when drunk...he was still like a Grandpa to them.

The kind of Grandfather that got his kiddo's into mischief and hyped them up on sweets before sending them home...the best kind who you had fond memories of.

"Yes, as a matter of fact...my children, I would like to introduce the newest member of our ragtag family. Mira if you would bring her in?"

"Of course, Master."

The large group of Mages began to whisper excitedly about their new member, wondering what kind of magic she used and what she looked like.

As soon as Mira appeared clutching the hand of a young girl who looked no older than twelve, her long purple hair sat in pigtails that almost reached her feet. With a sleeping white cat clutched in her arms like a stuffed animal, most of the females cooed at the sweet little girl who was smiling nervously. Her eyes were bright and alert, but had a depth to them that showed of a hard childhood.

"Meet Wendy Marvel, she was placed under my care by the Magic Council. She was found in a closing down orphanage for young teens called Cait Shelter. I want everyone to make her feel welcome and show her just how happy our dysfunctional family can be."

A chorus of welcomes and hello rang out across the room, causing the girl to blush at the sudden attention, but she quickly found an inner confidence and spoke proudly into the room.

"Pleased to meet you, this is my cat Carla and I'm Wendy...I use Sky Dragon magic."

This caused three of the members of Fairy Tail to look at each other in surprise.

Natsu, Gajeel and Laxus.

"Hoo boy, a fourth Dragon Slayer?" Laxus shook his head. "This place is sure getting interesting..."

"Nice to meet ya, Wendy!" Natsu smiled in welcome. "Mr dark and grumpy over there is Gajeel, he's an Iron Dragon...Blondie over there Laxus, Makarov's Grandkid and he's the Lightening Dragon and I'm the best of them all, the Fire Dragon!"

Wendy giggled as the three male Dragons began a verbal argument about who was the best fighter out of the three of them. Meanwhile the little white cat had awoken in her owners arms and was muttering about ruffians and hooligans.

Lucy felt a fuzzy paw poking at her face and she looked up at Happy, who was gazing at Carla with a starry look to his big black eyes and her heart just about melted.

"Lushi...I think I'm in love!"

* * *

**Heres two interesting notes about this story: 1) Would you believe the Smut was the first writing I had down for this story...the rest sort of spawned from there. A smutty piece centered around a magical circus where two performers were dragged into an exciting adventure! 2) Happy/Carla happens to be my third OTP in this fandom, after Natsu/Lucy and Gajeel/Levy...the tomcat and the high-strung princess are far too adorable for words...well anyhoo see you soon hopefully!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm so sorry for the delay in posting the next chapter, I've not been very well for the last week and have spent most of my time tucked up in bed completely exhausted. I honestly think I have been trying to do too much and my body just burned out of energy. This chapter is in two parts as it was getting on for sixteen thousand words and I am running out of memory on my phone (yep, every single chapter is typed out on my phones tiny keypad in word) . I could make it easier on myself and use a laptop but I find it easier to jot down ideas for each chapter in my phone rather than on a laptop or tablet. Once again I thank you for your reviews, favourites and follows, just as an added note this story won't be following along with the arcs of Fairy Tail, i'm picking and choosing at random references that tie in to my version of the story. I also warn you about smut in this chapter...hell you already knew that, but enough of my babbling, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Titania and The Dark Lullaby**

Lucy could be forgiven for wanting to spend the rest of the morning in bed, being so comfortable and warm beyond words in the strong arms of her pink haired best friend turned lover, Natsu; under normal circumstances was a perfectly good excuse to forget about their plans for the day, in order to stay wrapped in each others arms for several more hours and simply enjoy the peace and quiet before the storm...so to speak.

Unfortunately, Natsu and herself were due to meet Erza and Gray at Magnolia Train Station at ten thirty this morning, packed and ready for a week away in Oshibana for their personal mission request from Master Makarov himself. Natsu had spent much of yesterday using the clearing behind his house helping Lucy with training for her first mission, working on their teamwork and thr pinkette sitting intrigued nearby as she showed him all that she had learned in the week that he had been away on his solo mission.

The two of them seemed to have an uncanny ability to be able to communicate with one another with through looks alone, their teamwork strong and fluid that only came from the upmost trust and faith in one another.

The unguarded look of pride on his handsome face gave her the confidence she needed to throw in a little sway of her hips as her second spirit, Taurus was called into existence; that confidence soon turned to embarrassment as the pervy golden bull had appeared before her in a sparkle of light and promptly told the Celestial Mage that her breasts looked amazing in her favourite sports bra; causing Natsu to fall backwards with a bark of laughter, tears streaming down his face and he laughed about how weird Lucy's spirits were.

The Celestial Mage was torn between wanting to stomp over and hit the both of them on the head or wanting the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Fortunately, the flustered blond got some payback when the handsome oaf of a pinkette hit the back of his skull on a rough knot on the tree he had been resting against for the last half an hour with a satisfying thwack and he cursed loudly, boy had she given him hell for that one!

There was even more satisfying payback when, after a quick break for lunch, Aquarius had challenged Natsu to a duel, Fire against Water; a battle of opposing elements. Lucy had warned Natsu not to hold back and treat this like a real fight.

For nearly half an hour, Aquarius (guided by Lucy) and Natsu had traded blows, his Fire turning her Water into steam that coated the clearing in a blanket of damp fog. Natsu had used this cover to his advantage, silently sneaking around the back to deliver a final fireball to the surprised Spirit; thus ending the battle with the blue mermaid disappearing in a shower of golden sparks, an exhausted Lucy falling to her knees against the dewy grass, panting harshly.

Natsu had then stood before her with a proud grin and a hand held open in front of him for the tired blond to take. Lucy grinned up at him with a sleepy grin, obviously pleased with just how long she had managed to hold up against the powerful attacks from the Fire Mage. After a quick cool down and another round of meditation, the two of them had then stopped for the day, both Mages feeling accomplished and sore from a good workout, Lucy had groaned and stretched out her back muscles; before a surprised 'eek' left her mouth as she felt a pair of warm and strong arms wrapping around her from behind and dragging her backwards into the little cottage.

Natsu grinned mischievously at her little giggle as he dragged the both of them into his bathroom for a quick shower to wash away the sweat and grime from the day.

Back to the present morning, Lucy smiled at the memory of their shared shower, her cheeks reddening at the fact the two of them had spent more time exploring each other with wandering hands and lips than actually getting clean.

But oh...what a fantastic shower it had been!

Lucy giggled as a snore escaped the pinkettes lips as she carefully detangled herself from his strong limbs and picked up his oversized jacket from the previous day to give her naked torso some cover as she padded quietly into her kitchen to start on breakfast. The coat barely passed her ass or covered her ample breasts, but she smiled naughtily at the thought of Natsu waking up to breakfast served by hers truly in nothing but a pair of skimpy pink lace panties and his favourite black and gold jacket barely covering her lithe body.

Normally Lucy wouldn't have dared to try something so risqué with the Fire Mage, what with a certain blue Exceed normally curled up snoozing on the bed when Natsu stopped over; but he was strangely absent more than present lately...she suspected a certain pretty white cat had something to do with it. She figured the rest was him giving the two new lovers space without walking in to any awkward situations...Lucy made a mental note to buy the little blue cat an extra helping of his favourite fish as a thank you for not barging in on them during their alone time; gosh that would be a real mood killer!

Hopefully after breakfast she could drag Natsu into her bathroom for a repeat of the heavy petting session the two lovers had enjoyed yesterday in his shower? It was only seven thirty in the morning, after all...what exactly could they get up to in just a few hours...

Lucy sighed in bliss at the memory of his wet and very naked body wrapped around her from behind as his large hands had played with her pebbled peaks, causing her to whimper against the stove; her thighs squirming to try and ease the pressure building at her core as the blond tried to concentrate on the bacon and eggs sizzling away in the skillet before her.

As though her naughty thoughts had silently awoken her handsome Fire Dragon, Lucy felt liquid heat pooling within her as a growl caused a shiver to travel down her spine; a pair of rough hands squeezed at her hips, toying with the waistband of her underwear as a pair of hot lips latched onto her earlobe.

"Mornin' Luce."

"N-Natsu...I'm trying to make breakfast!" Lucy giggled breathily as she felt Natsu grinding his very prominent arousal into her backside, his mouth pressing a series of open mouthed kisses against her neck.

"Making breakfast wearing nothing but my vest and a pair of lace panties, really?" Natsu growled lowly against her neck, nipping at the faded mark he had placed on her two days previous; the Dragon within him demanding to drag her away from her stove, press her against her pink comforter and deepen the mark. "Anyone would think you're trying to seduce me."

Lucy bit at her lip and felt her eyes drift close in bliss, her head fell back against his bare shoulder; her face turning towards his where she left a lingering and heated kiss against the morning stubble at his jawline.

"Is it working?" Lucy whispered cheekily, pressing her ass backwards to grind sensuously against his arousal. Natsu growled and reached a hand around her front to dart into the opening of his vest to squeeze roughly at her right breast, earning him a keen on delight against his ear.

"A lil' bit...might take some more convincing." Natsu grinned, leaning down to capture her lips roughly, his breath ragged as she reached up to thread her fingers through his pink spikes and tug on them; the primal groan that left the back of his throat was matched by the unladylike snarl Lucy let out as his rough fingers tugged back and forth against her nipple. "What do ya want, Luce?"

"Breakfast, NOW." Lucy demanded against his ear, panting harshly. "Then I want you to drag me into that bathroom for a repeat performance of what we did yesterday...I wanna know if there's an encore."

"F-Fuck...yes ma'am!"

Natsu had never wanted breakfast to be over so fucking quickly as he did right now as he swiftly and excitedly pecked a giggling Lucy on the cheek with an adorable growl and a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, he immediately let her go to set the table. Lucy quickly turned off the stove and stood flabbergasted with the skillet of bacon and eggs in one hand, a spatula in the other; her lips open comically as she watched the normally destructive goofball literally whizzing through her kitchen drawers and cupboards, setting plates, cutlery, a few slices of bread and two glasses of fresh orange juice from the fridge on the small table before her. He then pulled out her chair for her in a show of chivalry so she could sit first, whisking the skillet and spatula out of her hands and placing it in the center of the table. He then pulled his own chair and sat down like a well behaved toddler without a single complaint and grinned at the blond expectantly.

"Wow...and I thought food was the only way to get you to pay attention when I want you to do something." Lucy teased, reaching over to serve a larger portion of the delicious smelling breakfast onto Natsu's plate before he drooled all over the table, before spooning the last three rashers of bacon and two eggs onto her own plate with a smile. "I guess the promise of sexual favours work wonders too."

Natsu, who had been halfway through shovelling down his breakfast as quickly as possible, suddenly choked on a slice of bacon and his face reddened when the blond vixen lifted a delicate foot to tease her big toe against his crotch; Natsu shakily reached for his glass of orange juice and gulped it down in one go as his eyes locked onto Lucy threading her fingers together, elbows on top of the table, resting her chin against them; which had the added allure of pushing her breasts together distractingly.

The Fire Mage loved that Lucy had seemingly turned from a shy, bashful teenager who turned beetroot at the mere mention of the word 'sex'; into the sassy, flirtatious and sultry vixen she had become over the last month or so. But fuck, if he didn't want to sweep away the remains of their breakfast; tear off his damn jacket and those flimsy panties of hers and bend her over the kitchen table and show her just how much she riled him up.

It was after a few minutes of waiting for Lucy to finish her breakfast did he realise that she was eating slowly on purpose; his fingertips tapped against the table impatiently with a low growl, before he had a sudden brainwave and waited until her head was tilted back as she took a sip from her orange juice before making his move.

Lucy was having enormous fun watching Natsu getting steadily restless as she took her sweet time in eating her breakfast, as she went to shoot him a cheeky grin after finishing her orange juice, her smile dropped as she found the seat across from her empty.

"Natsu?"

Had be gotten fed up of waiting and gone off to bathe on his own?

With a suddenly shriek, Lucy felt a shiver of lust pooling in her core as her legs were suddenly pushed apart and a hot breath fluttered over her center under the table. A sly smile came to her lips and she was incredibly glad she managed to keep her voice even as she asked what the mischievous Dragon Slayer was up to under the table.

"Did you drop something down there, Natsu?" Lucy teased, her only reply was a throaty chuckle and a pair of heated lips ghosting across her naked thighs; his hands squeezed at her hips and Lucy felt her head tilting back traitorously with a breathy sigh as Natsu teased her under the table.

So much for finishing her breakfast slowly, Lucy thought to herself. The Fire Mage always had a knack for turning her teasing back on her two fold and leaving her in a panting and dishevelled mess.

"If you don't hurry the hell up I'm gonna skip out on the bath and take care of you right here and now." Natsu warned, his voice slightly muffled against her thigh. The mere though of his dangerous mouth on her center sent a shiver of longing through her and she bit at her lip.

Lucy was about to reply cheekily when her knee suddenly jerked up underneath the table, jolting the table with a loud thud and causing the plates and cutlery to clatter; her lips opened in a loud moan as his mouth drifted across her center, tongue darting out to flick over the fabric as she reached a hand under the table and tugged against his pink spikes.

Her chair was suddenly pushed backwards with a screech against the wood floor (she hoped she wouldn't be moaned at by her scary landlady for the noise) and a very aroused looking Natsu glared up at the blond from his position in between her plush thighs, his mouth dangerously close to her core as he locked eye contact; smoothed his rough hands up her thighs and used his fanged teeth to tug at the fabric.

"Seriously Luce, if you don't get your pert little ass in that bathroom now I'm gonna leave you all hot and bothered and not do a damn thing to you."

This time it was Lucy to rush to her feet, leaving the remains of her breakfast to go cold as she stalked off towards the bathroom with a lusty giggle, Natsu grinning in triumph as he crawled out from under the table and got to his feet; his inner dragon growling possessively as his jacket was discarded near the pink curtain and the coquettish blond looked over her shoulder at him sultrily, biting her lip as she beckoned him to follow her as she darted behind the curtain.

Lucy couldn't help the chuckle that left her dry throat as she leant over to fill the bathtub up with water and her favourite bubbles, humming a happy tune as she waited for Natsu to join her. It was strange to think that just a few short months ago the most favourite thing she had done in this tub was relax with a glass of wine and a good book at the end of a hard days training, now that activity had been quickly overtaken, as her new favourite pastime was sharing a hot bubble bath with her new lover. They could easily while away a few hours in each others arms, trading long drugging kisses for exploring hands and naughty words whispered to each other; Natsu using his magic to keep the water hot and relaxing as Lucy lay back against his chiselled torso, her lips trailing against his jawline as they lay entwined together.

Speaking of her Fire Dragon, from the very naked body that suddenly pressed against her with a throaty chuckle, it looked as though Natsu had discarded his boxers on the short journey between her living room and bathroom; not that she minded one bit.

"Silly Luce, you're still wearing clothes." Natsu huffed against her cheek as she was swiftly turned round and he pushed her down to sit on the edge of the claw foot bath that was steadily filling with hot water.

Lucy watched with baited breath as Natsu dropped to his knees, the blow softened by the plush pink bathmat she had purchased shortly after finding out her bathroom floor was extremely slippery when wet; boy was she thankful no one had been around to hear her shriek of surprise or see her go flying backwards and landing on her ass ungracefully.

The blond felt a rosy flush warm her cheeks as Natsu grinned mischievously at her, his deft fingers tugging on her pink lace underwear as he worked them slowly down her lithe legs; there was no ounce of embarrassment or wariness on her face as she lifted her right leg to aid him in removing the last layer of clothing separating him from where she wanted his attention.

"Shit, Luce...did I really turn you on that much?" Natsu hissed longingly as he let his feral eyes drift over the sheen of moisture coating her core, smoothing his rough hands over her thighs to part them so he could get a better look.

Lucy couldn't help the whine of pleasure that caused her center to throb in anticipation of what he was about to do, her hips lifting impatiently to have his fingertips caressing her folds just like he had done the day previous; slowly experimenting with her as they stood under his warm shower, building her up slowly as he discovered just what she liked. It hadn't taken the talented Fire Mage long to send her flying over the edge with a gasp of pleasure.

"P-Please, Natsu." Lucy felt the air catch in her lungs and a ragged breath was drawn from her throat as Natsu hissed and lifted two fingers to rub against her center, her warmth igniting his bones in a way that made him feel hot and feverish; as though this blonde beauty was the one to wield Fire Magic, not him.

Lucy let her head tip back in pleasure, her hands holding onto the edge of the tub in a white knuckle grip that she was sure to crack the porcelain if she wasn't careful. Natsu leaned in and captured a pebbled peak of her heaving breasts and languidly circled his tongue around the areola as his fingertips leisurely explored her folds. Her body tensed as his fingertips reached her center, teasing around in a slow circle before Natsu growled and swiftly thrust his fingers into her to the knuckles; their earlier teasing having warmed her up just enough to feel only pleasure.

Natsu watched her undulating her hips in time with his thrusts and as his digits drove as deep inside her as they would go as she met his thrust with her own; Lucy suddenly gasped loudly and looked down at him with glazed eyes of chocolate brown and an amorous smirk.

"More." The blond demanded shakily, a hand letting go of the tub to slide into the thick of his hair; her left leg rising to drape over his shoulder.

Bossy little thing, his Luce...

She was so enthralled and distracted by his thrusting fingers that Lucy didn't notice him licking his lips before lowering his head with a heady growl that bordered on the dangerous.

Natsu opened his lips he sucked her clit into his mouth roughly, the loud moan of ecstasy and surprise at his mouth on her center was rewarded with his hot tongue flicking back and forth across her bud languidly. The Fire Mage growled low in his chest at her sweet flavour, his fingers speeding up within her as she tensed blissfully above him. Lucy felt her eyes flutter closed as she focussed on the sensations travelling through her body, his hot mouth sucked on her center for a few more seconds before he removed his fingers from within her and used that hand to lift her other leg over his other shoulder.

Lucy opened her eyes and glared down at him in protest for stopping, before she caught the dark and heady grin he sent up at her, as though he was a predator cornering his prey. Her body was shaking in longing, her thighs clenching against his cheeks as he suddenly lowered his mouth to her opening, feral amber eyes locked to her chocolate brown as he leisurely licked along her tender skin.

"F-Fuck!" Lucy shrieked ungracefully as Natsu nipped at her bud again before he dipped his hot tongue into her opening as far as it would go, causing the beautiful blond to let out a loud and throaty moan above him as her body tensed for one final time.

Lucy was struggling to breathe as her chest heaved up and down as electricity shot through her body, turning her legs to jelly as she tumbled blissfully over the edge as her world exploded into sparks of light and various colours. Her fingers grasped at his pink spikes so tightly that she was sure that it was hurting him, but Natsu was gazing at her so reverently that she dismissed that thought in an instant. The blond suddenly remembered to reach over and turn off the taps as she felt the now cold water of the full to the brim bath touching her ass and making her shiver.

Natsu watched with pride as spasms rocked through her body as she came down from her high, he wiped at the juices on the lower half of his face and removed her thighs from his shoulders; he grinned as she all but collapsed bonelessly to her knees and into his arms.

"You're amazing." Natsu pressed a kiss to her sweaty hair, smiling softly at her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his nose.

"Maybe we shouldn't get carried away while running a bath eh?" Lucy let out a satisfied little giggle, as Natsu wrapped his arms around her lazily.

"In my defence...I kinda figured things weren't gonna go to plan when I saw you parading round half naked in your panties and my vest."

"In my defence...that's exactly what I planned."

Lucy shrieked in laughter as Natsu suddenly laid her down on the soft bath mat and began to tickle her mercilessly.

* * *

Surprisingly, Natsu and Lucy actually made it to the train station with ten minutes to spare, of course Erza was stood by the waiting train and barking orders at the men who were loading what must have been thirty or more suitcases.

Lucy had briefly felt it was overkill packing several too many outfits, shoes and accessories; but looking over at the redheads cart of cases of various colours and sizes, she suddenly didn't feel so guilty. Since the first day of the mission was set aside solely for travel, Lucy had chosen a cute orange and yellow camisole, a short denim skirt and a pair of low heeled sandals that wrapped around her ankles. Her more sturdy clothes and footwear were packed in her suitcase, she had literally packed for just about every situation she could think of!

Snow, torrential rain, even a heatwave...you could never be too prepared.

Natsu had a large green rucksack slung over one shoulder, a large bedroll tied up to the bottom...Lucy had a sneaking suspicion his pack was more food that clothes.

Speaking of clothes...or lack thereof...much to Lucy's embarrassment at the arrival of their fourth team member.

"Your clothes, Gray?" Lucy sighed in bemusement and covered her eyes, far to used to seeing the Ice Mage in the nude to be seriously bothered by it...in fact, Lucy was more terrified of Juvia appearing out of nowhere in a puddle of water and tackling her to the floor shrieking 'love rival' in her ear.

"Put the junk away, jerk." Natsu growled at his rival.

"Did you just call me a jerk, Dragon Boy?"

"So what if I did-"

Lucy quickly tuned out the arguing and went over to speak to Erza instead of watching two idiots arguing over the size of their manhood (Lucy heard the old lady in her mind tittering about both men being of equal size, but she quickly shook that unwanted piece of information from her brain).

"Erza, good morning!" Lucy smiled kindly at the pretty redhead.

"Ah, good morning to you Lucy. I take it those two imbeciles are arguing already?"

"How about we just pretend we don't know them?" Lucy giggled, earning a shake of the Requip Mage at their antics.

"I trust you're well prepared for your first mission? I understand if you're nervous but from what I have seen from your training, you are a quick learner." Erza complimented. "Levy also tells me you have a brilliant mind."

"Thank you, Natsu and I spent yesterday working on our teamwork and battle strategies. I'm really not sure what you saw in me to request my help on this mission but-" Lucy blushed.

Erza tilted her head and folded her gauntlet clad arms.

"If I'm being honest, it was actually Master Makarov who suggested I watch your training. While you may be a novice Mage, I can certainly recognise raw talent when I see it. Have more faith in your abilities, that faith will be your ally in battle. Trust your intuition and don't be afraid of making mistakes, that is how we learn from them and get stronger."

Lucy let the older woman's advice sink in and wash over her, her words seemed to ease the Celestial Mage into a sense of calm.

"Thank you, Erza. I won't let you down." Lucy smiled gratefully.

"I'm happy to help, Lucy. If you ever want a lesson or two just ask."

"That would be great, I'd be honoured to get a lesson from the strongest woman in Fairy Tail!"

The blond then turned her head to look over at the two idiots still bickering several meters away, who were now angrily chasing each other round the train platform and bumping in to other passengers.

"So what do we do about doofus and dipstick over there? Do you wanna knock em out or shall I wrangle them with my whip?" Lucy giggled and gestured to the gold and blue 'Fleuve d'etoiles' that was wrapped neatly in a holster at her left hip.

Erza gave Lucy a sly grin and held up a fingertip.

"Watch and learn, Lucy, watch and learn."

Lucy then watched in amazement and utter hilarity and the redhead fastened a deathly scowl to her beautiful face that it made the very hairs on the back of the blonds neck stand on end.

"QUIET!"

Every single person on the platform in a twenty meter radius suddenly went silent and barked "YES MA'AM!", leaving the blond to let her mouth drop open in amazement...

Just how did Erza do that?

* * *

It really was quite something to see the powerful Fire Mage reduced to a green and quivering mess as he lay curled up against Lucy's side as the four of them got well underway on their train journey.

The blond had been told by several people just how bad Natsu's motion sickness was, but to see it in person was another matter entirely. Gray had tuned out his grumbles by looking out of the window as the locomotive whizzed by the countryside, Erza had even threatened to knock him out if the rest of the group preferred.

The moment the train had pulled away from Magnolia Station, Natsu had felt his entire body seize up, his stomach lurching painfully as a breath rattled out of his throat with a pained groan.

Lucy had told him to lay against her, their bodies cuddling against one another as the blond hummed a nonsensical tune softly as she gently ran her fingertips through his hair. Her cheeks were pink as she caught Erza smiling fondly at the two of them as Natsu eventually stopped groaning and nuzzled his face into her collarbone; dropping a kiss against her jawline.

"Where d-dya learn to do this?" Natsu whispered softly, the queasiness in his stomach reduced to a much more manageable level as Lucy tried to ease his sickness.

"My Mom used to do this when I got sick as a kid, it also helps with nightmares and panic attacks."

Whatever magic her delicate and soft hands were weaving, it was working to an impressive degree. He still felt as though one false move could empty the contents of his stomach, but the dizziness and bile clinging to his throat had all but gone. Had Natsu been in the right frame of mind to string together a full sentence of coherent words, he would have said more than two syllables to the beautiful blond.

"T-Thanks, Luce."

"Don't talk, bonehead. Just concentrate on my hand." Lucy whispered back to him, using her nails to scratch lightly against his scalp, earning the Celestial Mage what could only be described as an adorable purring noise from her impromptu patient.

Erza and Gray shared a smile as the two lovebirds were in their own little world for a few more moments, before the Ice Mage decided it was time to get some answers from Erza.

Casting his icy gaze around the carriage, he deemed the coast clear enough from non magic folk to have their conversation away from prying ears.

"So, I think it's time you started filling us in, what kind of mission are we going on?" Gray folded his arms and raised and eyebrow at the redhead. Lucy looked up too in intrigue while Natsu had all but dozed off happily against his best friend, still purring like Happy did when he was curled up asleep at the end of Lucy's bed.

"The Master has reason to believe the Assassin guild Eisenwald is planning something big, there was talk of an attack on the Magic Council so security was stepped up and the date was secretly brought forward at the most recent bi-monthly meeting. Well of course with no meeting on the scheduled date, there was no attack. Thanks to some recent intel from our man inside, we now believe that Eisenwald have gotten their hands on a dark artefact called 'Lullaby' and have switched their target from the Magic Council, to the leaders of local guilds, groups and bands of Mages." Erza explained, her voice lowering as an elderly lady walked by their booth.

"'Lullaby'?" Gray looked over at Lucy, who shrugged, neither of them had heard of such a thing. Natsu nudged his head against Lucy's fingertips as she momentarily stilled them to listen to the conversation, so she gave him an extra scratch with her nails and he dozed off again. Lucy smiled to herself at the big bad Fire Dragon acting like a cat demanding attention from his owner.

It was adorable.

"Yes, we have reason to believe they plan to attack soon, so Makarov sprung a trap of sorts. We have received word of a spy of Eisenwald in the Council, so Master had a very obvious meeting to arrange a Conference. Mentors, Guild Leaders and Elder Mages are meeting in Oshibana...of course little do they know that we shall be waiting for them instead." Erza smiled.

"That's some plan." Lucy was pretty impressed, she looked out of the window in contemplation of the mission. Was she really ready to help bring down an entire guild? Erza and the guys might have faith in her abilities but she sure as hell didn't have that much faith in herself. The words Erza had spoken to her earlier that morning once more drifted into her mind and Lucy shook her head with a smile. She was overthinking things.

"But how did you get wind of this attack, exactly?" asked Gray, folding his arms as he crossed one leg over the other, raising an eyebrow at his childhood friend.

"I was returning home from my latest mission, stopping at a local gathering spot for Mages in Onibas. I overheard a group of suspicious looking individuals talking loudly about a dark artefact and breaking some seal cast on it, a man called Kageyama told the others he was close to getting his hands on it. So I went to the Master about what I had discovered and we formulated a plan from there."

"So I take it 'Lullaby' isn't something you'd use to sing kids to sleep." Lucy shuddered, looking down at the Fire Mage as he whimpered against her neck, unconsciously pressing his lips against the junction of her collarbone.

"No, from the fact it had been sealed away means it must be very powerful. That's why I thought it best you come along too. Your skills at Magic not of this world might come in handy on this mission."

"Well I've no idea what we're dealing with but I'll try my best!" Lucy sounded more confident than she actually was, but it seemed to satisfy Erza.

"The leader of Eisenwald is a Mage called Erigor the Reaper, he takes on Assassination requests for large sums of money. The Council outlawed Assassinations years ago so it is extremely important we take this guild down."

"You're the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, why do you need our help?" Gray asked.

"I'm not foolish enough to take on an entire dark guild all by myself, Gray. That's why I asked you three along to help me take down Erigor and Eisenwald."

"Sounds like fun." Gray smirked.

"Aye..." Natsu mumbled sleepily, causing Lucy to giggle nervously.

Holy shit, she was terrified.

* * *

After lunch had been served (or what lunch they could make from overpriced sandwiches, some juice boxes and a few packets of peanuts), which Lucy had failed miserably to flirt her way to a discount from the distinctly unimpressed sever; Natsu had of course momentarily forgotten his motion sickness when food was involved and the pinkette cheekily piped up that she was barking up the entirely wrong tree with the man. Lucy had blushed in embarrassment.

Guess using her feminine wiles didn't work on men who weren't attracted to women...whoops!

Natsu had quickly demolished his food before falling bonelessly once more against the slightly irritated Celestial Mage and spent the next hour snoring obnoxiously against her ear. She was two seconds away from taking Erza up on her offer to knock the idiot out when the train eventually and thankfully pulled into Onibas Station.

Lucy all but left the whimpering mess to collapse into the seat and stalked off the train after Erza and Gray, the pinkette took a moment as he tried to get his bearings back as he felt the world shifting beneath his feet.

It had taken ten minutes to unload all of Erza's luggage, the conductor just about slammed the door in the face of the three of them as the train started to leave the station.

"So why are we stopping here?" Lucy asked, wheeling her pink suitcase behind her as she walked next to Gray, looking around at the packed platforms; families saying goodbye to relatives, others were being welcomed, some were simply on their way too and from work.

"Onibas is where I last saw them, I wanted to check to see if they are still in town before we move on to Oshibana."

It was roughly two minutes after that, Lucy noticed that a certain pink haired Fire Mage was missing.

"Wait...where's Natsu?!" Lucy shrieked.

Erza looked around wildly, before she pressed her hand against her forehead.

"We were so busy talking we forgot to drag him off the train!"

Lucy watched with wide eyes as the train sped out of the station, under any normal circumstances, the situation would have been hilarious...not so much when they needed the Fire Mage to help bring down a rogue band of wizards.

"Well it looks like the train dragged him off."

"I say we leave Flame Brain on the damn thing..."

* * *

Natsu was furious...no LIVID...just how the hell had his friends forgotten all about him and left him on this damn rickety old tube on wheels? If he wasn't feeling like shit he would have broken a window and jumped out before now. Too bad his legs refused to cooperate and allow him to get to his feet.

Stupid fucking transport...

Natsu believed he was alone for a moment before a male voice caught his attention just a few meters in front of him.

"Well lookie here...seems we have a Fairy on board. How's the Circus treating ya these days, do you perform tricks for loose change or maybe you play fetch like a loyal little doggy?"

"W-What?" Natsu ignored the sickness in his stomach to look over at the chump who was making fun of him, crossing his arms in front of him to stop the foot that suddenly made it's way to his face.

"Don't act so high and mighty cause you losers blindly follow along with the Magic Council."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and got to his feet, thankful that their carriage was empty as his fists lit on fire as he faced down against his opponent; slowly stalking his way towards ponytail guy with a snarl. This jackass was roughly five seconds away from being barbequed for breakfast...

"Ooh guess I hit a nerve."

With a flick of his wrists the black haired man shot a ribbon of shadows to intercept Natsu's fireball, the pinkette tilting his face to the side at the last spare moment to avoid being sliced across the face. With a crouch, Natsu shot like lightning towards his opponent, backfilling out of the way at the last minute to avoid a roundhouse kick to the side of the neck.

"My turn, asshole." Natsu growled menacingly.

With a blazing fireball from his clenched fist, his opponent was virtually knocked out with one solid blow of Fire Magic, he all but collapsed to the floor; a brown cylindrical object clattered to the floor in front of him. It looked like a flute made of solid bone, a skull fashioned into the head of it with three purple eyes glowing menacingly.

Natsu recoiled at the sudden feeling of dark and a vaguely familiar magic radiated off of the object.

Just what the hell was this damn thing?

* * *

"Hey, lady...you can't just press the emergency stop without permission!" the Onibas Station Manager argued angrily to a stony faced Erza. A nosy crowd had gathered around the redhead, Lucy and Gray as they watched the older woman ignoring the portly man who was very red in the face.

"Our comrade is on that train, please understand. And take our luggage to the nearest hotel."

"Do I look like a bellhop, lady?" The Manager argued in disbelief, shaking his head briefly.

Lucy laughed uneasily and was slightly afraid the Manager was about to call Station Security to have them escorted out of the building. That wouldn't be a great start to their mission...

"Y'know, I'm really starting to think everyone at Fairy Tail is insane."

"Not all of us."

Lucy shriek in embarrassment as she got a unwanted full frontal view of a stark naked Ice Mage.

"CLOTHES GRAY!"

* * *

After another few minutes arguing with the Manager, a Luggage Porter and even the Janitor, there was a sudden explosion from the train fifty meters away that rocked the station, people around them started screaming and running around blindly in a panic of a possible attack. Erza swiftly turned to the station Manager and ordered him to get everyone to safety outside of the station. He briefly hesitated to follow her orders, but the glare the bossy redhead sent him was enough to follow the strangers orders.

As he held his shiny silver whistle against his lips to call the stampeding crowd to order, Erza motioned for Gray and Lucy to follow her as they made off down the track as fast as they could.

From the rocking motion of the train further on down the track, it looked as though Natsu had either gotten delirious and was trying to break out of the carriage, or had met an opponent on the locomotive.

As another explosion ripped the roof off one of the carriages and Natsu jumped out, holding an unconscious man with a black ponytail and white coat under one arm; it seemed to be the latter of the two.

"What the hell are you guys playing at leaving me on this damn death tra-"

Lucy called out to him suddenly as a large gust of wind seemingly appeared out of nowhere and blew the Fire Mage from the roof of the train and straight into a nearby tree with such force that it splintered the bark on the other side of it. With a gasp of whiplash, and his amber eyes rolling back into his head, Natsu collapsed to the ground beneath him.

A group of fifty or so men darted out of the treeline, crowding around the group menacingly, cutting off any means of escape. One or two whistling and catcalling at Erza and Lucy who both looked ready to knock a few heads together.

"Let me guess, Eisenwald by any chance?" Erza spoke loudly into the crowd, not receiving an answer as a tattooed man with silver hair floated down in front of the unconscious man Natsu had dropped when he was blasted away against that tree.

With a silver fringe drooping over one tattooed eye, a torso covered in strange arcane markings and a scythe the length as long as the man was tall, it was easy to see he was not a force to be reckoned with.

The surrounded three Mages watched as the silver haired man reached into the white jacket of the unconscious male and went to grab a strange looking flute from a hidden inside pocket. He then turned the cold glare of his menacing eyes on the three before him with a snarl.

"It seems our Kageyama has completed his mission, but attracted the attention of a few nasty flies along the way...and who might you be, the Fairy Cavalry?"

Erza glared at the man as the group of males behind him laughed and catcalled at his quip, Lucy shuddered as her attention was caught by a bald male making an obscene gesture towards her with his hips.

"I take it you are Erigor?" Erza hissed through gritted teeth, ready to Requip into her armour at a moments notice, Gray and Lucy doing the same; ready to leap into battle alongside her.

"So you've heard of me." Erigor chuckled sarcastically. "It seems my flawless reputation precedes me."

"Erigor the Reaper, you are hereby wanted by the Magic Council for twenty-five unsolved murders and the theft of a forbidden dark artefact –"

Is it really so little? I've killed far more than that little girl." Erigor smirked darkly. "And since you blasted Fairies won't live to see the next five minutes I suppose I can spare you pathetic wizards for a few minutes to tell you of my plans."

"What kind of bad guy tells his opponents what he is planning?" Lucy asked with her hands on her hips, her whip unbuckled and ready to use.

"Lookie here Reeves, blondie over here must be into some kinky shit if she uses a whip as a weapon." Lucy hissed in disgust at the bald man who spoke to his equally ugly looking teammate to her right.

"Heck yeah...maybe the boss'll let us play with her and Red a bit when he's finished with these little boys!"

"Or maybe you disgusting bastards are about to get their slimy asses kicked instead." Lucy gasped as she watched a flaming fist deliver a brutal uppercut to the vulgar bald male who had disrespected her and the other man received a roundhouse kick to the side of his jaw as they were sent flying passed Erigor and crashing through the metal train carriage with a sickening thud.

Lucy grinned as a slightly beat up Natsu stood in front of his friends and mate protectively, wiping a spot of blood from his split lip with a flaming hand, his eyes were glowing a feral amber and he looked ready to cause some serious damage.

"How sweet you boys are for protecting your little girlfriends, why don't you ladies sit this one out while I teach your fellas some respect." Erigor promised darkly.

"Oh trust me, these ladies can more than kick your asses. I fact I reckon they could do it with one hand tied behind their backs, what do you think Gray?" Natsu grinned back at the Ice Mage.

"Nah I reckon they can do it with both hands tied."

"Oh I very much doubt that, you see with one song from this flute and I can cast all four of you into a deathly sleep that you shall never awaken from."

Erza narrowed her eyes at Erigor and took a step towards him.

"You will hand over the Lullaby right now before we are forced to take you down by any means necessary..."

The Eisenwald men laughed at her words and Erigor smiled sardonically at the redhead.

"Come now, if I did that then my little plan wouldn't work, would it?"

"And what exactly are you planning?" Natsu hissed threateningly, crouched low as he prepared to charge Erigor, flames licking at his feet ready to add a boost of speed to his movements.

With a dark smile and a hint of amusement in his eyes, the Reaper raised his hand towards the four Fairy Tail members.

The air was all but knocked out of their lungs suddenly and Lucy whimpered, clutching at her throat as it constricted tightly, Natsu calling her name out in alarm as he moved towards her; his own breath catching in his throat. Erza and Gray received the same treatment from the Dark Mage as they gasped for breath, Erza falling to her knees as she spluttered aimlessly to try and breathe. One by one the four of the Fairy Tail Members collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"Don't worry my little Fairies, you shall soon see."

* * *

**Well thats it for this part, chapter ten should be posted some time within the next week! See you then.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hoo boy I'm back! Between work, getting diy projects and decluttering done and finally adopting a 5 year old playful and goofy black cat called Salem (yes after the 90's tv show Sabrina which was my favorite show as a kid) the last few months have flown by. I hope everyone is safe and well and I can only appologise for the delay. I'm hoping the next chapter won't be too long as it's a big one, both in plot and developments *hint*...On a side note, I know episode 6/7 Lucy used Cancer, but in this story she doesn't have him yet. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10 – The Maiden in Oshibana**

Lucy Heartfilia wasn't quite sure if she was perfectly awake or stone cold unconscious and having a hallucination induced by head trauma.

Given the kaleidoscopic myriad of vivid flames dancing dangerously in a spiral before her very eyes, the Celestial Mage was betting on the latter of the two. Were she not transfixed by the massive vortex swirling tempestuously fifty feet in front of her, Lucy might have paid a little more attention to her surroundings to try and figure out exactly where she was. Heat, brilliant heat unlike she had ever experienced before ruffled her golden hair, the ash and smoke billowing through the air was somehow avoiding choking her lungs.

Standing still in a deep crater more than thirty meters across, rocks and boulders almost vibrated with the static energy; the very hairs on the back of her arms and neck stood on end, as though one single movement and the world would completely explode.

Were she also in her logical mind, the budding writer would try and explain just what she was looking at. A Fire Devil, especially in a calm and inky sky was not a natural occurrence, fuelled by the scorching heat of a roaring wildfire spiralling flames high into the air; she noted that nothing was burning, not even the ground beneath it, the whirlwind was rooted on the same spot as it spiralled.

This Devil wasn't of a natural origin.

Bright sparks of lightning streaked around the vortex, as though a volcano were erupting; ash colliding together in charge like the thunder of God. Colours of the brightest reds, oranges and yellows spiralled around the white eye of the tornado, melding together against an indigo sky; the stars their audience in this stunning dance of fire and ash.

Then, as if someone had flipped the switch on the visual effects, the roar of the flames suddenly began to die down, the vivid heat dissipated as the eye began to loose power; because there were suddenly a pair of flaming eyes gazing out at her from the center of the vortex.

A low based hum vibrated through the blond beauty as she tensed for a second.

The flames had begun to take on the fluid like quality of water, moving together like waves crashing upon the shore of a beach; the faint outline of a pair of horns and a smooth scaled neck hiding within the fire before her. The hum turned into a low rumble, almost a purr.

Shimmers of heat drifted through the hazy air, beckoning Lucy forth with a crook of a finger on an invisible hand tempting the Celestial Mage to move towards the tempest.

Any logical person would turn high tail and run, but as her warring heart and head tried to decide what to do, the scent of a wood bonfire and spices drifted into her nostrils; the effect immediate in its purpose to invoke a sense of warmth and security over her entire body.

Lucy knew these flames.

However, as she stood before the fire as it all but immediately burned out; there was not a familiar figure of her gorgeous pink haired lover grinning cheekily at her from the center of the flames.

Stood, gazing down at her with reptilian eyes of the deepest amber, majestic and ancient in the creatures presence and almost as though the very sight before her was forbidden...

Was a Dragon.

* * *

"Let me get this straight...you allowed a Fairy Tail fly to see the Lullaby flute...then let them get away?"

Kageyama yelled in pain as Erigor knocked him to the floor of the train. Several other members of Eisenwald laughed at his black eye. The black haired male held a shaking hand to his throbbing face and looked up warily at their leader. The news of his rather easy defeat had obviously not gone down well with his boss and the rest of his guild had been quick to rip into him for being so careless and a soft target. He just hoped Erigor didn't decide to cut him down permanently.

"It's not like he knows anything about our plans Sir! Even if he did there is no way those stupid Fairies could stop us." Kageyama held up his hands in a pleading gesture, trying to placate the angry male with his words alone; he wouldn't dare think he stood even a single chance of taking the dark Mage on, he wasn't an idiot. Sure, he and the other guys sparred with one another, but their leader was on a whole other level of deadly.

"We cannot afford to take any chances...fortunately we have a strategy in place." Erigor seemed to calm down a little but Kageyama had his guard up. After rendering their uninvited guests unconscious, the rest of his guild had bound them with thick rope and secured them in the baggage cart of their commandeered locomotive. They would be arriving soon at their destination.

"Right you mean the thing at Oshibana Station."

"We cannot have flies buzzing around where they are not wanted."

* * *

Lucy had taken a tentative step towards the majestic creature before her, a look of awe and wonder on her face as her wide brown eyes watched the dragon carefully.

Twenty meters tall and probably half more than that from snout to tail, glittering ruby red scales almost danced across it's skin under the pale moonlight in its luminosity. With twin spiral horns of the purest ivory she had ever seen, matched claws and talons at the end of powerful arms and legs in a sitting position. The white underbelly was marked with an X shaped scar and a few others dotted the otherwise smooth scales that gave her a small sense of familiarity.

White coarse and wild mane with the slightest tinge of a rosier colour trailed messily along the back of the beast, those deep pools of amber gazing at her warily; as though deciding whether to have her for a light snack, or crush her into dust with that powerful looking jaw tipped in four inch serrated fangs.

As awesome as the sight before her was, and terrifying; the fact that it's powerful tail was waggling back and forth playfully like a puppy with boundless energy gave her pause.

It was rather small for a dragon, Lucy thought privately; perhaps it was a juvenile or a young adult?

From what she had read about the beasts that were even mythical to the Magical world, Dragons were fiercely territorial, dangerous and expert hunters who were the very top of the food chain. Males would be seldom seen other than to hunt, and once a year journey great distances to battle for mating rights of the larger females. One successful male would rule a harem of females, siring dozens if not hundreds of the next generation of offspring; ruling a territory of a hundred miles. The male would stay with his harem for a year, until his young were born; and then he would disappear, his harem of females left to raise his young. The male would return every year to his harem, loyal to his females; but never getting too involved with his younglings. The female offspring would stay with their mothers, but when the male offspring reached sexual maturity; he was chased from the harem to set out on his own.

Lucy doubted a magnificent dragon of full maturity would be sitting before her with its tail wagging as thought it wanted to play fetch! It was probably lost or wanting to have her for breakfast.

Suddenly with a large rumbling huff, the dragon suddenly crouched down on his hind legs and all but rolled over; belly in the air, arms and legs pointing lazily towards the sky; tail still waggling back and forth happily, its snout pointed towards her, letting out an impatient huff of air from its nostrils.

A startling revelation came to the confused Celestial Mage...this dragon wanted to play?

It was at this point that Lucy Heartfillia could feel the odd sensation of being shook awake, the disembodied voice of her favourite person calling her name urgently from far away.

So it was at this point, that she woke up.

* * *

"Silly dragon..." Lucy murmured sleepily.

Natsu tilted his head as he held his beautiful blond best friend in his arms, freeing her bound arms from their thick rope bonds and holding her in his strong arms as she slowly came around.

"Dragon?" Natsu asked a little more than curious.

"Mhm...I dreamt of a swirling tornado of fire in every colour imaginable, then a red dragon appeared...but I wasn't scared." Lucy yawned sleepily.

"R-Really? How come?" Natsu asked quietly.

"He reminded me of you." Lucy nuzzled into his arms. "Strange huh?"

"Y-Yeah..." Natsu chuckled nervously.

Had she been a little more lucid, she would have paid attention to her lovers strange demeanour; but instead she let Natsu hold her tightly.

The Fire Mage had been awoken by the pain of hitting his chin on the stone floor of a basement room as he half consciously felt himself and his team being tossed through a thick metal door, two Eisenwald goons laughing as they locked the door behind them. He had tried to free his bound arms from the metal cuffs secured around his wrists and had almost scoffed when his magic melted through them easily as the goons had set off down a corridor adjacent to their makeshift dungeon.

Did these assholes even know basic elemental laws? Fire when extremely hot melts just about everything...

Natsu had immediately turned towards Lucy, who was mumbling something about swirly fire, and he pulled her towards his chest; calling her name and shaking her softly.

"Come on, Luce...you can snooze later weirdo."

Lucy could vaguely feel the pleasant sensation of rough hands gently caressing her cheeks and a pair of warm lips pressing against her forehead; her Dragon Slayer tightened his muscled arms around her protectively.

"No...too warm." Lucy huffed petulantly and nuzzled into Natsu's neck, pressing a series of light and sensual pecks there to try and convince him back to sleep.

But Natsu wasn't budging, the scene in front of his beautiful blond and himself was well worth the look.

"Trust me...you gotta wake up." Lucy felt a tinge of confusion at the amused tone to his voice and as she opened her eyes and surveyed the room, a snort of laughter passed her lips.

They seemed to be in a basement of sorts, a drab and dreary one at that. Damp grey stone covered the walls and ceiling, a cold slate floor and a heavy iron rod door was firmly bolted shut with a three inch thick bar. There was nothing of any use within their cell, apart from a foul smelling bucket of stagnant water in the corner and a small bared window offering a minuscule beam of daylight into the cold prison. Lucy was sitting off the floor within Natsu's lap, gratefully saving her bare legs from the coldness of the stone floor. She had also noticed what had caused the laughter in Natsu's voice.

On the opposite wall to the Fire Mage and herself, sat a certain redhead; softly snoring, with an extremely uncomfortable Grey Fullbuster clasped against her chest as though Erza Scarlet was cuddling a teddy bear...a very annoyed and half naked teddy bear.

"Not a word." The Ice Mage growled lowly, his eyes narrowing in challenge as Natsu grinned evilly at his oldest rival and friend.

"Does Mr. Cuddlesworth want a hug too?" Natsu teased, open his arms in a grabby motion that caused Lucy to giggle airily.

"Better be careful, Juvia won't like Gray-bear in the arms of another woman!"

A thoroughly annoyed Ice Mage tried to squirm out of Erza's arms but had no luck, this only made Natsu laugh even harder.

"Yeah, yeah...lap it up. Instead of teasing me, why don't we figure out where the hell we are?" Gray sighed.

"Sure thing." Natsu grinned.

There was a moment of silence before Lucy smiled evilly.

"Sure you don't want a hug?"

Natsu fell back with laughter at the murderous look on his oldest friends face before the Fire Mage got to his feet and helped his lover to standing. Lucy wobbled a little on her legs, using the pinkette to steady herself before looking towards the iron door that held them prisoner; temporarily of course, she had every faith that Natsu would use his flames to slice through the door like a hot knife through butter.

First they had to detangle Gray and wake up Erza.

"If the rest of Fairy Tail ever hear about this I'll tell Lucy what happened at the New Years Eve party last year...you hear that Flame Brain?" Gray threatened lowly. "Juvia would kill me..."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the pinkette and smiled teasingly as all the colour drained from his face.

"Do I want to ask?" Lucy quipped.

"Fuck it was awful." Natsu shuddered. "I'll take this to my grave Ice Breath you have my word...I'm not stupid enough to piss off your girl."

"Good, what ever happened to that little brat who thought kissing was gross?" Gray teased.

Natsu grinned and pulled Lucy into his arms and snuggled into her neck.

"He found someone he likes more than anything, even food!" Lucy giggled and turned her head to press a slow kiss to her lovers cheek at his backhand but sweet compliment.

Gray had been quick to notice just how quickly the two best friends had gotten over their embarrassment about public displays of affection, and he admired them for it. If only he himself felt so at ease holding his girlfriend so lovingly in his arms around his friends, they were still in the dating and cuddles stage of their relationship; it wasn't as though the Ice Mage didn't like kissing his girlfriend, he enjoyed it very much. He just preferred they leave that sort of stuff to when they were in private.

"So how do we get the great Titania to wake up?" Lucy asked with her arms folded and a fingertip tapping against her chin.

Gray and Natsu suddenly grinned at one another before flexing their muscles.

"Watch and learn." Natsu suddenly shot towards his rival and oldest friend with a fist to his face and Lucy gasped as it made contact with the left side of Gray's jaw.

* * *

Natsu was dragging his feet behind the group as he sulked unhappily.

His head hurt like hell, maybe he should have learned by now not to piss off the Requip Mage; but it was the quickest way that he could think of to wake her up.

Erza had woken up just as planned the moment she sensed the boys were fighting and swiftly given them two impressive lumps to the back of the head, but what had made Natsu turn into a petulant five year old was that Lucy had sided with Erza and threatened to split apart from them, leaving the two men to go off searching for Eisenwald on their own.

Breaking out of their prison had been easy, but finding their way out was much trickier; it seemed one of goons had tried to use magic to confuse Natsu's sensitive nose, but of course the Dragon Slayer couldn't be fooled so easily. Just ten minutes after the Fire Mage had gone slightly overboard and completely melted the iron door that halted their escape, Erza was pushing open the large white doors at the end of a long corridor they had seemed to be running down for ages.

Lucy was in awe of Titania's raw strength and she privately hoped that one day she would have even one ounce of her power.

"I'm guessing a small unit from the Council stormed in earlier but they were wiped out from Eisenwald forces." Erza had pushed open the grand white doors into the main lobby of the station to find their enemies grouped inside, almost as if they were expecting them.

The lobby was a grand room of impressive size, made up of large white marble floor tiles, architectural walls of patterned granite and arched windows let in light from the second level where a balcony stood on either side of the room. The ceiling was domed and a ledge sat below a large octagonal skylight.

"Step into our parlour Fairy Tail Flies!" Erigor chuckled darkly and rose into the air easily, as though gravity didn't exist. He looked down at their enemy and smiled sardonically.

"Tell us what you plan to do with Lullaby!" Erza demanded.

"Think about it, what do all train stations have?" Erigor asked as though talking to a child. The silver haired man was hovering over a speaker system that made the announcements, it took the Fairy Tail team a few moments; but they soon figured out what he was planning and they didn't like it one bit.

"You plan to broadcast Lullaby to the entire town?" Erza hissed in outrage.

"You see thousands of nosy human onlookers have gathered outside trying to grab a piece of the action, who knows...if I turn up the frequency loud enough, I might be able to extinguish the entire city!" Erigor laughed darkly, as though proud of his hideous plan.

"What reason do you have to kill the innocent people of this city?"

"This is a cleansing of all the fools out there who remain ignorant of those who have had their rights stripped away. At this point we have given up trying to regain our freedom, we want power!" Erigor was obviously full of rage and resentment of years of being forbidden to use magic out in the human world, it was also easy to see just how he had brainwashed a small army of Mages into joining his cause.

"You guys are completely insane, killing them won't help mages get their rights back, it will only make things worse!" Lucy tried to reason with the men, but it was obvious mere words would not change their minds. Action would.

Suddenly the mage Kageyama mumbled something that she couldn't hear and raised a hand and ribbons of shadow shot from his fingertips, Lucy was about to raise an arm to defend herself when a familiar blast of heat countered the enemy spell as Natsu stood protectively in front of his mate.

"You _dare_ use your magic against her again and I'll burn you to ash." His furious growl was meant to terrify any opponent but it made Lucy shiver in longing.

"You again, I thought I dealt with you on the train?"

"I recognise that whiny voice, looks like we got ourselves a party." Natsu suddenly grinned, showing off his fangs.

"These are the guy's we're here to fight!" Lucy hissed.

"Like I said, it's a party..." Natsu's grin turned almost demonic, cracking his knuckles and eager for a fight.

Erigor suddenly tightened his grip on his large scythe and smiled.

"Well it really has been a pleasure Fairy Tail, but I have more pressing matters to attend to, men...I leave them all to you!"

With a sudden gust of air, Fairy Tail's strongest team watched helplessly as the man they had come here to apprehend seemed to melt into nowhere and vanish from sight. As the rest of Eisenwald then turned their attention to the four stood before them, one of the team suddenly had a rare brainwave.

"Hey, Gray...if I remember right I think Luce and Erza owe these chumps a good ass whooping." Natsu turned his head to smirk at his oldest friend.

"Oh yeah...I kinda feel bad for these pathetic bastards but they deserve it for underestimating Fairy Tail." Chuckled Gray darkly.

"You ladies mind teaching these little boys some respect?" Natsu winked as Lucy slowly grinned evilly with an amused twinkle in her eye and Erza smirked.

"Natsu, Gray...you go after Erigor. Lucy and I will teach these ruffians a lesson for disrespecting our family." Erza's face morphed into a look of unbridled fury and a cold blanket of fear settled over the room like a damp fog as several jeers of disbelief and laughs rang out through the crowd.

"Man...I hate skipping out on a good party." Natsu grumbled in jest.

"Hardly seems fair does it?" Gray smirked.

"We can easily handle a couple of girls you –" yelled one of the goons.

"I meant its hardly fair leaving Titania and The Great Blondini to deal with such weak assholes."

Lucy felt a wave of heat and appreciation wash over her at Natsu's unwavering faith in her powers and she smiled naughtily at him, walking over to him and lifting her hands to teasingly caress his chiselled abs; leaning up to press a slow and lingering kiss to his lips, which had dropped open in surprise along with his eyes widening. His immediate response was to pull her curvy hips closer to him and he depended their kiss for a few seconds, before Lucy pulled away with a cheeky grin.

"Call me that again and I won't return the favour from the fun we had this morning when we get home." Lucy murmured so only the two of them could hear. Her words, along with the disappointed groaning from the Eisenwald goons at the beautiful blond being taken caused Natsu to growl possessively.

"Yes ma'am...Gray lets go beat that flying fuck-face to a bloody pulp so we can get home." Natsu said, pulling Lucy into a deep and heated kiss, leaving the blond dazed and wanting before taking off.

"With pleasure."

* * *

One minute, Lucy was enjoying the delicious feeling of her lovers lips against her own her traitorous mouth then piped up about returning the favour and then Natsu kissed her feverently and had all but pulled away, bolting from the room and leaving Erza and herself to deal with a whole host of gross old men, sleazy grease-balls and the like.

"They ran off... they're going after Erigor!" shouted one of the goons.

"I, the great Rayule will stop them!"

"I'm going with you...that pink haired dimwit is mine..."

With that two of the Eisenwald goons took off after the boys, one catapulting himself towards the upper balcony; the other, Kageyama, disappearing into a pool of shadows.

Once again, the group of men began laughing menacingly and cracking their knuckles, winking at the two women and making rude gestures.

"Mama always told me not to hit girls...but I can make an exception."

"I'm sorry ladies you're not going to be as cute when we're done with you!"

Lucy gasped dramatically and smirked at their sexist opponents.

"But without our stunning good looks, we'll be totally helpless!"

Lucy then turned to watch Erza as she re-quipped a sword from thin air, then stood motionless as the terrifying woman then trained her dark eyes on the crowd before her as if challenging them to even attempt to try and take her on. Lucy privately noted that Erza looked glorious, she was awed by the sense of power and authority this one woman seemed to command. Erza Scarlet bowed to no one, a law unto herself it was easy to see that this one woman could easily challenge any man of the highest power.

There was a sense of calm as the opponents stared each other down, as though daring the other to make the first move. However, when none seemed to want to move, Erza made the decision for them. The stagnant air suddenly turned electric as a golden glow surrounded Titania, gasps rung throughout the room as she started to float into the air; her entire body was taken over by a beautiful light that reminded Lucy of her own power. It was certainly a wonderful sight to behold and it gave Lucy the courage to calm her own sense of trepidation At the thought of battling so many men.

"Just believe in yourself Lucy." The Celestial Mage head Erza speak to her calmly as her Heaven Wheel armour appeared, along with dozens of swords floating menacingly in the air.

It was then that she called upon her own power, closing her eyes and allowing the energy to flow through her entire body; her golden hair started to lift and flow as though there were a gentle breeze around her, she could feel the magic pulsating through her as if synching to her calm heartbeat. Her magic pulling her into the air weightlessly as her eyes snapped open, but instead of the deep brown, they had turned into a pure gold and she unclasped her whip and let each of the 12 ribbons glow a blue or gold. As the boundless energy flowed within her, the faces of 50 men looked on in horror as they realised they were about to get their ass handed to them.

Lucy couldn't wait to beat these chumps to the ground for disrespecting Fairy Tail and it seemed as though the redhead wanted to do the same.

"So which of you boneheads wants a black eye first?" Lucy smiled sardonically.

There was the sound of steel on granite as it slid across the floor as Erza pointed her sword towards the men, several of them retaliated by shakily unsheathing their own swords and getting into stance ready to charge the two women.

With a single collective battle cry, Eisenwald ran towards Erza and Lucy.

With a single nod and grin to one another, their magic flowed within their veins and they faced their opponents.

And that was when the screaming started.

* * *

The entire building was shaking with the rumbles of regular explosions and flames of the most blistering heat.

Sneaking around quietly wasn't Natsu's style so after ages bickering with his Ice Freak of a team mate who was trying to argue about being stealthy; the pair had split up.

Instead of being quiet, the Fire Mage had kicked and punched a hole in every wall he came across in search of the silver haired asshole.

"Erigor!"

"Gee, haven't you ever heard of using a door?"

Natsu turned around to find the room behind him empty, but a humanoid shadow cast on the ceiling caught his attention. With a yell of surprise, Kageyama conjured ribbons of shadow which sent his opponent crashing in to the far wall. He landed with a hard crash of flames, rubble and an annoyed snarl; the pinkettes inner dragon eager to tear through his strong barriers and cut the asshole in front of him into bloody pieces for attacking his mate.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now."

Frustration bubbled tempestuously as his opponent grinned at him as Natsu wiped a streak of blood from his lips. With a simmer of blistering heat, the Fire Mage lit his body in flame in effort to try and terrify the information out of his enemy.

"Tell me where Erigor is..."

"You really think I'm just gonna tell you that?"

Kageyama threw more shadows at the Dragon Slayer but gasped in shock as he simply knocked them away...Natsu Dragneel was done playing around.

So I get to knock you around...and get the info I want?"

What followed was an intense flurry of shadow and flame as both men traded blows; parried with punches, kicks and dodges too quick for the normal human eye. Every ribbon of darkness that shot towards the Fire Mage was burned away with a flaming fist. It was the roundhouse to the jaw that finally sent Kageyama backwards through the stone wall and into the room beyond.

Natsu followed through the giant hole in the stone that the Shadow Mage had left and he grinned triumphantly at the sight of a completely knocked out opponent, who was satisfyingly lay slumped beneath a curved crater of stone.

That one had to of hurt...

"Guess I got carried away."

* * *

"Lets do this."

A dozen sword clad men charged upon Erza, who was steadfast to unleash a graceful arch of blades around her body; true in its precision aim in throwing the hoard of goons backwards into the granite walls of the lobby with a satisfying thud. Where twelve men fell, seven or so followed and they too were swiftly dealt with.

Lucy tilted her head and smiled with pride at getting to see just how Titania's iron clad reputation preceded her, this one woman army was not to be taken lightly.

Almost caught by three golden beams of energy that shot towards her, Lucy commanded the energy within her to magic her Fleuve d'etoiles into snake like movements; calling upon a fond memory of an eastern Bosco bazaar her parents had taken her to see where the sand people native to the country had entertained their captive audience with tricks, snake charming and exotic delicacy's and flute music.

With a graceful flourish of her wrist, the beams were absorbed into her whip.

"Nice try...but that magic doesn't work on a Mage that commands the stars." Lucy smiled sickeningly sweet at the shocked men. The blond beauty then raised a hand and clasped it tightly in front of her, twelve snaking ribbons shot into the crowd to pick out random members of the fight and ensnared them tightly; each of them yelling in surprise or trying to wriggle free from their bonds.

There was a moment of silence before Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, magic flowing into her Zodiac whip and surrounding her captives in a brilliant white light.

As all of their energy was drained and the twelve were rendered unconscious, their bonds immediately loosened and they dropped heavily to the floor. Lucy then lifted her ribbons into the air like a beautiful lasso and shot twelve Mages collective magic of various element back towards the remaining few men that Erza hadn't knocked out.

So, roughly three minutes after the start of their battle of seemingly unfair odds; two women had barely broken a sweat taking down most of a guild.

Not bad for a days work...the two of them just hoped that Natsu and Gray had found Erigor.

* * *

"So you mean to tell me that while Lucy and I took on fifty men, Gray beat up one idiot and Natsu decided Oshibana Station needed a new open floor plan?!"

Lucy had winced at the tone of Erza's voice and felt very sorry for her mate as he nursed a hell of a black eye as the four team mates had met up after a fruitless search for Erigor.

"Oi...I beat this fucker up too!" Natsu argued.

Having dragged a protesting Kageyama up two flights of stairs in order to find the rest of his team, Erza had swiftly held a sharp blade to the Shadow Mages throat and threatened his life in return for disclosing the assassins location.

It was then that the black haired male had agreed and informed them that the Eisenwald leader had known about Fairy Tail's setup all along and had long made his escape. The large swirling tornado enclosing the entire station had put a stop to their plans to follow him, even Natsu's talented sense of smell couldn't track Erigor from within.

Erza, Natsu and Gray had all spent ten minutes throwing every weapon, fireball and ice lance at the vortex, but nothing could break through the barrier.

It was when Lucy felt a lurching tug on her magic power that the team stopped what they were doing and watched in surprise as the Celestial Mage seemed to enter a trance like state and began to glow a strong gold, her aura a light blue.

"Err...is she supposed to do that?" asked a bewildered Gray.

"Well Luce is a weirdo...so yeah the sparkly shiny thing is pretty normal." Natsu raised an eyebrow before what was about to happen hit him suddenly and he grinned.

"Congrats flame brain, you're dating a glow worm." Gray remarked dryly.

"No idiot...she does this when she summons a brand new spirit." Natsu laughed. "Perfect timing, Luce...lets hope this one doesn't try to drown me in sea water."

"I like the spirit that did that..." Erza quipped.

"Yeah I'm happy if anyone can drop Fire Ball on his ass!" Gray chuckled, swapping a look with an equally amused Requip Mage.

"Cut it out Mr. Cuddlesworth, now isn't the time to develop a sense of humour."

Lucy ignored the bickering of her team and concentrated on her vision of an inky and beautiful starry sky, a gasp leaving her throat and a tear escaping her eye as the Virgo constellation glowed brightly in her mind while the calming presence of her mother warmed her heart and soul.

"L-Luce, why're you crying?" Natsu panicked with the uncontrollable urge to pull her into his strong arms and hold her until she felt better.

"It's Virgo...I've not seen her for ages, she was one of Mom's favourite spirits."

Natsu had already witnessed the pretty swirliness and shininess of Lucy's summoning's, but he still stood in awe of the beautiful etherealness as his mate shone in all her glory.

"I call upon thee, Virgo. Sixth of the Twelve Zodiacs, come to me! I bind you under contract in the name of Lucy Heartfillia!"

Erza and Gray were stunned with their mouths hanging open as lights began to shoot from her glowing body and swirled around the trance like Lucy, almost as though blanketing her in a warm hug of positive energy. Her team watched as the golden body of a rather short woman began to form, about five foot in height; just slightly taller than Levy. What was very odd however, was the fact Virgo was dressed in a short maids outfit, complete with a frilly headband nestled on pink short hair and of all things...thick metal handcuffs on each wrist.

"Is it time for punishment, Princess?" Virgo spoke smoothly, her voice even with a hint of hope to it.

Natsu gaped at her for a moment before falling to the floor in laughter.

"Man...you sure do have some weird spirits, Luce! First a grumpy mermaid, second a bull wearing pants and now a maid wearing handcuffs!"

"Compared to a volatile toddler who loves bubble baths, steals his mates fuzzy pink bathrobe and hasn't done his laundry in three months?" Virgo sassed smoothly, smiling as three Mages erupted into peals of riotous laughter as the Fire Mage turned bright red.

Natsu sulked as Lucy went over her contract with her new spirit and then asked the pinkette female to help them out of their situation.

"Right away, Princess."

As Virgo conjured a golden doorway through the wind barrier, to which Erza and Gray swiftly stepped through; thanking the Celestial spirit as she bowed to them, Lucy turned to a quiet Natsu and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I don't mind you stealing my bath robe or loving our bubble baths."

With that, Lucy pulled him through Virgo's doorway with a lustful giggle, leaving Natsu completely hot under the collar.

* * *

Natsu had wanted to go straight after Erigor, but Erza had decided they needed to be fully rested before going after him; Natsu had sealed her decision by announcing he would still be able to easily track the guild leader the following day.

So they had checked into a nearby hotel, dragging a bound (and now gagged thanks to Erza getting fed up of his protests) Kageyama with them.

The receptionist had given the team a funny look upon seeing their prisoner being dragged by his ears into the lobby, but after Erza had asked for three rooms and handed the woman a rather large amount of Jewel; no more was said as she handed them their keys and bid them goodnight.

Natsu all but dragged his lover to one of the three rooms, Gray in one and Erza and Kageyama in the other.

Lucy wanted nothing more than to soak her tired muscles in a nice hot bath, but upon entering the bathroom; found nothing but a toilet, sink and a shower, much to her sigh of displeasure.

"What's up?" Natsu asked, wrapping his arms around Lucy from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder after dropping their luggage by the door.

"I wanted a bath to relax my muscles but guess I'll have to go without." Lucy complained.

Natsu thought for a long moment, simply enjoying holding her tightly before an idea came to him.

"Well I can't do a hot bath...but how 'bout a warm massage instead?" He murmured huskily against her neck, lips teasing the side of her jaw.

Lucy giggled breathily at the tickling sensation against her skin and she felt a jolt of electricity pass through her to the ends of her toes that sent a pulse of heat to her core.

"Really?"

Natsu watched with avid fascination as Lucy suddenly hopped away from him and stood by the bed. Growling low in his throat, the Dragon Slayer's eyes never left her lithe body as she began to unlace the orange string that held her top together; pulling it through the eyelets deliberately slowly, revealing perfectly smooth breasts clad in a satin deep red bra.

Letting the orange fabric fall to the floor, Lucy offered the same slow motion of pulling the zipper down on her tight denim skirt. With a sensuous wiggle of her hips, she pulled the skirt slowly down her body; eyes cloudy and aroused as she bit at her plump bottom lip.

"L-Luce..." Natsu whispered desperately, his length hardening painfully from such a simple thing as watching his beautiful best friend; who he had seen naked on several occasions, stripping so slowly in front of him. He desperately willed his body to stay where he was by the bathroom door, if his Luce wanted to give him a striptease; he was more than willing to enjoy the show.

"Do you like it, I bought this set especially for you." Lucy murmured.

Natsu felt his throat go dry as she stepped out of her skirt and stood before him, licking her lips and running her delicate but strong hands up her curvy waist.

The pinkette let his feral gaze wander unashamedly over her gorgeous body clad in the matching red satin bra and panty set, ample breasts cupped in delicate soft fabric so thin he could see her areola peaking through the center of each breast; tight barely there panties clinging to her full hips, a patch of darkness at her core showing just how turned on she was.

"Fucking hell, Luce...you tryin' to kill me?" Natsu groaned desperately aware of the hardness straining painfully against the fabric of his baggy white pants.

Lucy was met with the image of the gorgeous Fire Mage reaching up to pull his black vest from his body, his chiselled abs gaining her attention; outlined perfectly against the V of his abdomen, his shorts tented impressively. Biting down on her lip, the view of her lover's incredible body would never fail to leave arousal coursing through her body; eager to run her lips over his muscles, watching him come undone with her soft but needy touch.

The mattress dipped as she crawled onto the bed, beckoning her mate closer as she lay down on her stomach, head facing him and toes brushing the headboard. Natsu growled as he saw the thin strip of red satin separating two perfectly round ass cheeks and he quickly dropped his pants and moved towards her, crawling onto the bed and sitting astride her thighs; his member grinding into her backside with teasingly slow strokes.

Lucy moaned breathily as Natsu's warm hands touched her smooth back, gliding over the surface of her soft skin; a content sigh worked its way to her throat as he smoothed over her shoulder blades, he leant in to breathe huskily in her ear.

"Lets get this bra outta the way."

Lucy hummed her affirmation as he caressed her back with long slow strokes, making sure to squeeze sensuously at her ass in a rough motion.

With practiced ease, the fabric hiding her breasts was unclasped and tossed away somewhere in the room; Lucy was resting on her elbows and Natsu used this new position to his advantage and leaned his strong hands in to palm at each ample breast, snarling in feral arousal as he squeezed and tugged on them roughly, her gasp of delight causing him to grind his hips into hers with enough force to jolt the bed.

"Fuck, you like things rough don't you Luce? Making me wanna pound you into the mattress till you beggin' me to stop."

Lucy felt her core pulsing angrily to her lovers words, moaning breathily as his fingers tugged mercilessly at her hard nipples; arousal pooling at her core which left her squeezing her thighs together to try and ease the pressure. She had never felt this aroused this quickly before.

"Y-Yes...more!" Lucy keened, loving the way his thick length teased her just right between her legs, her hands gripping on to the bedsheets with a death like grip; not caring if they wrinkled in her fingers.

"More what, Luce? Tell me what you want me to do to you." Natsu tugged at her mate bruise with his teeth, his inner dragon demanding he rip off her tiny panties and fuck her senseless and make the mark permanent.

"F-Fingers." Lucy was impressed she managed to form any words at all as his left hand stayed on one of her breasts, his right tugging aside her thong to reveal her soaked core to his animalistic gaze; the heady scent of her arousal making his blood boil.

Lucy tilted her head back in bliss and a cry of wild abandon as she felt thick fingers thrusting into her core, the tightness of having her legs closed by his strong thighs adding to the pressure as he set a hard and fast pace within her. Breathy moans of delight left her throat in rhythm to his thrusts and with the added stimulation of his finger tweaking her left nipple between them soon had her climbing to another level of pleasure.

"Good Luce, make those sweet little moans...let me know how much you like my fingers inside you." Natsu growled against her ear, his lips wild like fire as they travelled the length of her back, before he hissed and suddenly pulled away from her.

Lucy made a noise of protest as Natsu turned away from her, pulling her thighs over his shoulders with a show of strength that left her face and breasts in the mattress; her face turned to the side. He did rip her panties this time, casting them away as though they burned him, his tongue licking drugging against her core, sucking her clit into his scorching mouth as she gasped loudly against the bedsheets.

"N-Natsu!" Lucy moaned loudly as her hand groped beneath her for his boxer shorts, her aim true as she deftly pulled his boxers down and wrapped a firm hand around his length and began to slide up and down his shaft.

The Fire Mage hissed at Lucy's flexibility and used his hands to squeeze roughly at her ass, hard enough that the blond was sure to have fingertip shaped bruises tomorrow; but the thought of such a naughty just below her clothes gave her a thrill, and she moaned in response.

A sudden thought occurred to her, as her lover lapped mercilessly at her juices, the coil inside her belly tightening with the pressure on her sex; moans reaching higher in pitch as she began to see spots in her vision.

"That's it, Luce...let yourself go." Natsu rumbled.

With one final growl from Natsu that vibrated deliciously in her core, Lucy cried out as she tumbled over the edge as the pleasure became too much; fists grasping tightly at the sheets as bolts of white hot lightening shot charged ribbons to all her nerve endings, her limbs shaking uncontrollably as wave after glorious wave rolled through her body. Her senses were overwhelmed by the feel of weightlessness and the warmth of content, Lucy allowed herself a few moments to calm down her rapid breathing before she felt Natsu lowering her boneless body to the bed; before crawling over her to press hot kisses against her sweat sheened back.

"Beautiful, Luce. You're so fucking beautiful." Natsu murmured against her skin.

Lucy turned slowly onto her side, looking up at Natsu with mischievous eyes; causing him to gulp. The hazy arousal was still lingering on her face, the vixen like smirk of her lips teasing him and making his length twitch within his boxers. She wanted something more...Natsu could see it in the way her chocolate orbs flickered between his face and the tent of his own arousal.

"L-Luce?"

Her own spectacular orgasm wasn't enough anymore, she had become addicted to the feeling of euphoria that Natsu brought out in her; the way he caressed her skin to boiling point, teased her with long hot strokes of his talented tongue. She wanted to do the same for him. So Lucy winked at as she pushed him by the shoulders to lean back against the headboard, his eyes wild but curious as she used her hands to tug off his boxers; teeth biting at her kiss swollen lip as she let her eyes drift down to gaze longingly at his impressive length, standing at full attention and waiting for her lips.

"Natsu...let me service you for once." Lucy could probably have worded that better, given that her partner looked nervous as hell; but her words seemed to break the tension in his body.

"Service?" Natsu grinned. "I ain't an engine that needs a little tune up once in a while, Luce!"

Lucy felt her cheeks pink but she smiled at his adoring grin, his pretty amber eyes dark and wanting as they gazed at one another.

"Natsu, I want you to feel the same pleasure as you give me." Lucy whispered and caressed the skin just about his shaft, lust pooling within her as his muscles twitched.

The pinkette pulled her towards him and pressed a bruising kiss to her lips.

"I'd love that." Natsu wasn't normally one to give in so easily, but Lucy seemed genuinely turned on by the thought of her mouth wrapped around him that he wasn't going to argue. His smart, strong and beautiful mate wanted his pleasure so much that she was thoroughly aroused by the mere thought of it...Natsu would be a fool to refuse.

Lucy smiled lustfully at him, letting him shift his legs into a more comfortable position before he watched her smoothing her soft hands over his powerful thighs. His brain short circuited when she crawled towards him, the hard tips of her breasts teasing back and forth over his skin; drawing a mew from her throat and tilting his head back in bliss.

"S-Shi –" Natsu hummed but soon gasped as soft lips closed over the head of his shaft and sucked lightly, before a small tongue lapped at the bead of essence leaking from the tip of him.

Lucy moaned at his flavour, it was a little bitter for her tastes but she was enjoying the feel of his velvety smooth skin so much that she opened her mouth and took him in further, dragging the flat of her tongue along the vein to the underside of him. Natsu whined low in her throat as her hands squeezed at his solid ass and she moaned long and low as one of his hands carded into the thick of her golden locks to massage the back of her head in a motion to continue. She was curious to see how it felt it he pulled at her hair, and almost pulled away to ask him; but the way his lips pulled apart to hiss in pleasure as her tongue swirled around his tip. So she grew bolder.

Natsu was really trying hard not to loose control, but the way her warm mouth closed over his shaft again and again had him tensing under the pressure far too quickly. He should have known from the way she used her tongue to tease him during their heated kisses would translate to her talented mouth making him come undone so easily. He growled lowly as her hand suddenly wrapped around the base of him, rotating back and forth, up and down with just the right pressure to feel the familiar stirring of tightening around his balls and he couldn't help the words that tumbled out of his mouth as his palms squeezed and pulled at her breasts.

"Fuck...Luce...you take my dick so good." Lucy felt wetness seeping between her spread thighs as she sped up the bobbing of her mouth, humming in delight as she felt two thick fingers rubbing at her core. "Perfect...fucking perfect!"

The beautiful blond rewarded him with a throaty hum, hips bucking against the fingers at his core as Natsu met her thoroughly aroused gaze with a feral one of his own; Lucy moaned as she felt herself tumbling over the edge once again and Natsu followed not long after with a loud guttural groan, Lucy momentarily surprised by the intensity of his release.

His entire body had tensed and wound so tightly that when the coil snapped, he felt fire and heat burning through him from the length of his spine to the curling of his toes; Lucy did well to keep her mouth around him and swallowed the essence of his release with a satisfied mew.

"H-Holy shit." Natsu gasped out as Lucy leaned back and licked at her swollen lips, lapping up a drop of whiteness that had leaked from her mouth. The pinkette used the hand at the base of her neck and pulled her towards him as their lips met in a rough but satisfied kiss. "You're amazing, you know that Luce?" Natsu chuckled at the way her flushed face lit up with his praise and she crawled into his lap as he tugged the covers over them.

"I love you." Lucy murmured sleepily into his neck as he wrapped his boneless arms around her and she nuzzled into his sweaty skin, the smell mixing with his campfire and spice scent to lull his girl into a content silence.

Natsu felt his heart give an exhilarated whoop of joy and he couldn't help the silly grin that came to his face as he nuzzled her cheek. Lucy...Lucy Heartfillia loved him.

"I love you too, weirdo." Natsu whispered to her.

But Lucy didn't hear him...she had dozed off. The Dragon Slayer didn't mind though, he would say those three little words to her over and over again; however many times she wanted to hear them.

Forever if she wanted.

* * *

**Y'know I would apologise for the long smut scene but lets face it...i'm sure most of you are here for the sexy times! Hehe see you soon.**


End file.
